LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Hosting a lemonade stand as a kid is something many of us have done, but it's not very often that you grow up and turn it into a real business.
One Little Rock 13-year-old girl turned that dream into a reality.
"I was really shocked," Kyleigh's Lemonade owner Kyleigh McGee said. "I probably almost cried because it's such a crazy moment. You go from a traditional lemonade stand in your grandparents' yard, and now you're in stores."
McGee was surprised when her mom shared that her lemonade would be stocked on store shelves in Central Arkansas.
"All these different people are trying the lemonade, like, oh yeah, that's me, that's crazy," McGee said.
It's been a long road to get to this point. We first introduced you to McGee in 2017 when she ran her own food truck at seven years old.
McGee and her family still bring the food truck to events around the area, but now her primary focus is selling lemonade.
"I try to get a lot of my homework done while I'm at school," McGee said. "When I leave school, I can help my mom get the lemonade to stores and stock the shelves whenever possible."
McGee said when she's not putting money earned back into the business, she's putting some of it away for college.
Her goal is to eventually expand to stores out of state to pair with the 11 local ones she's already featured in.
McGee also sells the lemonade on her website.
"People recording videos and posting reviews, especially on TikTok, is getting my business really out there," McGee said. "It's helping out a lot."
According to McGee, she learns a lot from her mom as the business grows.
"There's like a lot of stuff that I don't really know," McGee said. "She teaches me along the way, and I try to do it with her. She's a huge supporter, and I love her."'
Now, she looks forward to the expansion soon.
You can find Kyleigh's lemonade in Little Rock, Benton, North Little Rock, and Jacksonville stores at the following locations:
Drug Emporium
- N. Rodney Parham
Edwards Food Giant
- Colonel Glenn
- Jacksonville
- Otter Creek
- Main Street
- Arch Street
Value Food
- Colonel Glenn
- NLR Broadway
- Benton
She also ships orders worldwide.