It's more than just the cost of fuel that's rising. Costly fuel means costly produce, a crisis that hits close to home at local merchants.
Gary and Jonathon Adler have been selling Lemonade in front of their parents' ranch-style house for almost two summers now, and they're beginning to feel the crunch of higher expenses. "We haven't seen a decrease in the money coming in, we're just having to put more out," comments Jonathon, the Adler in charge of the plastic bag of money that he says, "feels a lot lighter these days."
Jonathon is the more outspoken of the two brothers who opened this business last year, but it's the other Adler brother who seems more upset by the economic woes. Gary, who handles the lemonade preparation, barely says one word during the interview, and chooses instead to sit with his head down, inspecting something he found in his nose.
When asked of a possible closure, Jonathon laughs. "We've talked about it, but it's not what we want. We're going to try a price increase first and see how the neighbourhood responds." The positive response from Jonathon was surprising on an afternoon where the brothers had only seen one sale. Gary maintains his somber attitude, even as he jumps up to retrieve a paper cup that has blown off the table to a nearby lawn.
"Things are bad, but panicking is not the solution. Our work ethic has helped us through worse times than this," says the optomistic entrepreneur who is referring to an incident last summer, when the health department responded to a complaint that Gary was stirring the lemonade with his bare arm. "At the time it seemed like the end of the world. But we shut down, bought a spoon, and re-opened better than new." Lately, life may be giving them lemons, but the Adler brothers continue to find a way to make lemonade.
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