Cody Cops Shut Down Kids’ Lemonade Stand In City Park

A group of kids set up a lemonade stand in Mentock Park in Cody on Thursday, but within a few hours, the stand and the kids were shut down for not having a permit after someone called the Cody Police Department.

On Friday, Outlaw Lemonade was back in business with the full support of the Cody community. Lemonade was being sold and several residents were amazed that such a thing had happened at all.

"I think it's a little ridiculous that they would require a permit for children to set up a lemonade stand," Stephanie Ferrell, the mother of Wyatt, 7, and Macy, 4, told Cowboy State Daily. "That seems excessive for little kids trying to make money."

Set Up And Shut Down

The entrepreneurial lemonade stand was the children's idea and endeavor. Wyatt and Macy partnered with their best friends, Jackson and Ripley Hamilton, 7 and 4, respectively, to raise money for a day trip to Billings, Montana.

"They wanted to have a 'Billings Day,' where we go to Billings with friends and do all the fun things," Ferrell said. "So (Sager Hamilton, the Hamiltons mom) and I told them that they must make the money if they want to do it. So they decided to do a lemonade and cookie stand."

The four enterprising kids set their stand up in Mentock Park, selling cups of Country Time Lemonade and cookies for $1 each. They had been open for two hours when the Cody Police Department arrived, but not for a cookie and a cup of lemonade.

"Code Enforcement told us they had received a complaint, and we needed to shut down," Ferrell said. "You need a permit to be at a city park."

With that, the lemonade stand was shut down for the day. Ferrell and Hamilton were flabbergasted that a pop-up lemonade stand merited such a response.

"We haven't told the kids the full details yet," Ferrell said. "It's hard to explain to a child. We're going to sit them down and explain to them why this has become such a big deal."

It’s not the first time kids in Wyoming have run afoul of local rules. A Girl Scout and her mother who were ticketed in Pinedale in April made national headlines after Cowboy State Daily reported the story.

The Call, Not The Code

Farrell and Hamilton repeatedly said they had no resentment for the Cody Police Department or Cody Code Enforcement Officer Jennifer Morris. They hadn't obtained a permit to sell in a city park, and everyone was "just doing their jobs."

"We take full accountability," Hamilton said. "We were in the wrong by not taking the proper steps to see if we needed to get a permit. We had no idea that was a thing for a lemonade stand for kids, so we take full responsibility for that."

The thing that upsets both mothers was the complaint. Despite the innocent enterprise of four kids selling lemonade, someone decided it was egregious enough to call law enforcement and stop it altogether.

"We were more frustrated that someone would call and complain about a child's lemonade stand to get them shut down," Hamilton said. "How do you tell a kid you must have a permit?"

Farrell said she got the name of the person who called the Cody Police Department about the lemonade stand. When she called the complaint, they adamantly denied making the call.

Back In Business

When word of the lemonade stand shutdown started circulating through Cody, there was an immediate reaction. Luckily, this lemonade stand story has a happy ending.

By noon Friday, the four kids were selling "Outlaw Lemonade" in front of the Big Horn Basin Media, home of Cody's radio stations. The business had been renamed to reflect the events of the previous day.

Dozens of people with cash in hand stopped by, receiving glasses of pink lemonade made from the 10 cartons donated by the local Walmart Supercenter.

"We've had such an outpouring of support," Hamilton said. "The radio station told us we didn't need a permit because it's private property, so we came out. And we've been getting Venmo donations for the kids. It's just been incredible for us."

With the "Billings Day" budget reached and surpassed, Ferrell and Hamilton are determined to "pay it forward." They're talking to their kids about donating their lemonade profits to local organizations like the Park County Animal Shelter.

"We want our kids to pay it forward," Ferrell said. "Since they've exceeded their goal with this, we're going to sit them down and decide where the money should go."

The mothers have also been communicating with the City of Cody and Cody Police Department to avoid a similar incident in the future for their kids and all kids.

"You need a $70 permit and a food handler's permit to set up a lemonade stand," Ferrell said. "I want to look into how to get rid of that ordinance, or even make it so that it's a $10 fee for kids to set up a lemonade stand."

Even the Cody Police Department conceded that what happened was unfortunate. Ferrell said several police officers, who stopped by Outlaw Lemonade on Friday, said as much to her and Hamilton.

"Lt. Beau Egger apologized from the bottom of his heart that we had to deal with this," she said. "He supports kids having lemonade stands and thinks it’s an excellent thing to teach kids from a young age and told me the Cody Police Department will never enforce any permit violations for kids on private property."

What happened to the lemonade stand was baffling and frustrating, but it provided an outlet for the community's support and generosity.

"It's been crazy," Hamilton said, "I was telling Stephanie that there might be one bad apple, (but) there's hundreds of good apples out there."

And when life gives you good apples, you can sell a lot of lemonade.

Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.