Weather Permitting, Lemonade Stand Offers Sweet Deals

A new drive-thru business has moved into the grassy area on Purgatory Road, directly across from the St. George's School Ice Rink.

Their niche market? The thirsty.

Their product? Lemonade—coolers and coolers filled with the deliciously sweet and tart liquid gold that easily catches the eye of parched beach-goers heading to or from the three Sachuest Beaches down the hill below. Placing themselves in direct line of these beach-bound consumers, clearly this savvy outfit knows the Golden Rule of business, "Location, Location, Location."

These three young entrepreneurs offer a variety of beverages to passing motorists: Lemonade, bottled water, Coca Cola, and daily specials that run the gamut from juice boxes to Gatorade.

Now, pay attention, all you executive head-hunters out there. The three key players of this business venture are: Gunnar Bennett, 10, a 5th Grader at Cameron Ashton, 8, and Nicholas "Nicky" Ashton, 10, the latter two brothers hailing from Sanibel, Florida when they're not spending summers with the family in Middletown.

Their business model? Buy low. Sell high. They find good deals at the local markets and out they go.

Clearly, the boys know their price points, as this thirsty reporter was more than willing to fork over the reasonable $1 for a bottle of quality name brand spring water in the midst of the mid-90s heat wave that was taking hold of Aquidneck Island by late Wednesday afternoon.

Business for the week so far has been busy, they reported, with $32.28 brought in Tuesday over a three-hour run and, with $29 already collected in the first 45 minutes of Wednesday's session, the boys were on track to blow all previous records out of the water.

Nicky Ashton, the apparent CFO of the outfit, agreed to an exclusive sit-down interview with Patch Wednesday, even going so far as to share his privileged accounting portfolio and market strategy. "We're starting the business small, and then we're just going to keep building on it from there," explained Ashton, proudly holding up a spiral bound notebook, the company logo proudly displayed on front.

Double It, Inc.

"See, it's all in this book, right here."

Ashton's ledger outlined his company's clear strategy for success, his tracked expenses thus far on neat accounting receipts and, of course, he proudly pointed out the earnings of late.

Knowing the needs of customers has been key, as well as carefully following emerging trends. The lemonade business has been good this week, explained Gunnar Bennett, "mostly because of the humidity. It's really hot."

One lesson the boys have clearly learned early on through this joint venture is the power of diversifying. "We pulled a wagon around the neighborhood earlier this week and we sold flowers and herbs," said Bennett, noting that haul yielded $35.15 for the group within just a couple hours.

In less than three days and six hours, the team had already taken in just under $100.

So why are these boys doing it? What drives them to succeed?

"Right now, there's not much hope of it, but I'm saving up for a 25- to 30-foot sail boat," confided the elder Nicky Ashton, leading this interviewer to believe for a fleeting moment that perhaps, just perhaps, this young man was not all-business-all-the-time as he'd initially let on.

But then he added, with a genuine conviction and self-confidence that could signal the next Donald Trump, "My dad got his Captain's license when he was 19 and I would like to have a business when I'm old enough, where I give tours around the harbor on my boat."

"I'm saving up for my own lobster pot," interjected Bennett. "And a license. You have to have that."

The younger Ashton, Cameron, said that he has designs on a nice longboard one day to catch some good waves. He quickly added, "But right now, all I want is candy. And I want to save up to be rich."

'That's all he ever wants in life," mused big brother Nicky. "To be rich and get candy."

Weather permitting, thirsty motorists can catch the Ashton-Bennett Lemonade Stand on Purgatory Road across from the St. George's School Ice Rink Thursday 11am to 3pm, Friday 11am to 3pm and, mayyybe Saturday.