The Lemon Spot is open

Jun. 5—Ten-year-old Violet Ingram and her eight-year-old sister, Carly, make lemonade. Nothing out of the ordinary here. Youngsters all over the country spend at least a portion of their summer mixing up batches of that most refreshing beverage, but Violet and Carly are a little different.

"Oh no, we don't use powdered mixes," Violet said with a scrunched nose. "There are a lot of chemicals in those mixes and they use a lot more sugar than we do. We only make the good stuff."

Good stuff indeed. Violet and Carly, along with some help from their cousin, Isabel Barnett, and under the watchful eye of their mom, Davi Ingram, have set up shop in a new trailer in the parking lot of Killion's Collision, located at 1230 N.Link St. in Palestine.

Make no bones about it: these young ladies are bringing their A game.

"Their lemonade is not freshly squeezed," said mom Davi. "It's freshly smashed."

It's a minor detail, but very important.

"That's how you get the best flavor!" Carly said.

The lemonade stand is the culmination of a lot of research and hard work. The girls started with a vision board back in October and have gone to great lengths to put together a menu with some very interesting and tasty recipes. Their goal was to open on Monday, June 5. They hit the nail directly on the head.

"We've done one every summer," Violet said. "We try to raise money for camp and for college. This year we hope for it to really do well so we can give some to children's charities too."

The 2023 version of the Ingram girls' lemonade stand, however, is a huge step up for them, not just facility-wise with their new trailer, but they went through all the legal routes to be permitted by the state. The Lemon Spot is the real deal.

The trailer is outfitted with all the necessary tools and stations to concoct the refreshing specials on their menu, all named for members of their family. "The Ingram" is what you'd order when you crave a perfect, basic lemonade. Ask for "the Violet" and you'll get that basic lemonade infused with violet and lavender. "The Carly" is lemonade with coconut, guaranteed to "transport you to the beach."

Also on the menu are a lemonade/watermelon creation called "the Sam," an energy-boosted lemonade called "the Jovi," a yummy glass of sweet tea called "the Mom," and an aptly renamed Arnold Palmer called "the Dad."

Adventurous types can opt for the "Sweet & Sour" combo by adding a cookie and your favorite canine companion is welcome to a free "Pup Cup."

Once the girls pass the $500 mark in profits, they hope to invest in a machine that muddles the lemons and other ingredients to their lemonade offerings. In the meantime, they are committed to doing it the hard way.

"We want to make the best summer drinks," Carly said. "It's hot and everybody is working so hard. They need something like a really good glass of lemonade."

And Lemon Spot is exactly where a hard-working person would go to find that glass of lemonade.

The Lemon Spot will be open at 11 a.m. Monday through Wednesday for the first couple of weeks. After that they will be open at 11 a.m. Tuesday through Friday.

"We want to call our customers 'Lemonheads,'" Violet said. "I think that will be a lot of fun."

That sounds like great marketing. Perhaps an official t-shirt is in their future.

For more information call 903-724-7654.