Jak and Riven Waskalik at their Squeezed lemon stand on Aug. 12, 2021. (Photo Courtesy Derek Brade)

By Chris Brown

Wanted Pokemon stuff, didn't like chores

Three siblings squeezing the day behind lemonade stand

Aug 12, 2021 | 2:54 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Three young entrepreneurs are squeezing the day at their own lemonade stand this summer, motivated in a way only kids can be.

“We wanted to start it because we wanted to get out of the house and make some money so we could like buy Pokemon stuff,” says Riven Waskalik.

“I was asking my dad for chores and didn’t really like the chores cause there’s a lot of chores that I don’t really like like vacuuming so my dad thought of this and then we started our own business,” adds his brother Jak.

For the past month, Squeezed lemonade stand has been set up downtown outside Local Public Eatery downtown on Third Street a few times a week.

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Riven, 11, Willow, 9, and Jak, 7, are behind the stand selling lemonade in five different flavours, cookies, stickers and T-shirts. They’re also out front talking to passersby and trying to get them to the stand.

They came up with the idea with their father Mike.

He and a friend were involved early, building the stand and developing branding.

Since then it’s been all the kids, Mike says.

“In terms of operations day-to-day, it’s the kids full-on making lemonades and barking at the customers that are walking by to get them in to try to buy lemonade or a cookie or sticker,” he says.

As the owner of Local, Mike is proud to see his kids following in his footsteps.

“I’m not a carpenter so I can’t teach my kids that, I’m not a professional hockey player, they’re not going to learn that from me,” he says. “I am a businessman. I thought this is something I can teach them, it’s a skill I can impart that I thought would be something they can take long-term.”

As business picks up the stand will be seen at other places around the city for the rest of the summer. You can keep up with them on Facebook and Instagram.