(Photo by Felicity Abbott/The Daily Illini)
This story first appeared in The Daily Illini.
A hidden gem sits between rows of vendors at Urbana’s Market at the Square.
Leeyah-Symone’s Lemonade Stand is a family-owned business offering a sweet sanctuary for all marketgoers.
The stand offers various lemonade flavors, including classic lemonade, pink, cucumber, apple-pineapple and banana.
Jeshona and Bennie Drake started this business in 2022 as a way to bounce back after the pandemic. Leeyah-Symone, their five-year-old daughter, gave the family the perfect opportunity to become entrepreneurs.
(Photo by Felicity Abbott/The Daily Illini)
Jeshona Drake homeschools all five of her children and utilizes the lemonade stand to teach hands-on lessons about entrepreneurship, business and general life skills.
“We all have our own parts to play and we pitch in — all hands on deck and we say, ‘Let’s make it happen,’” Drake said.
What started as a simple community lemonade stand has blossomed into a well-established cottage food business and a cornerstone of Urbana’s Market at the Square.
When the stand first opened, they would sell their lemonade out of cups, but as demand grew, they started bottling their products. According to Drake, they bring about 400 bottles every Saturday and sell out.
One of the reasons for their popularity is the attention to quality ingredients.
“We use no artificial colorings or flavorings in our lemonade and so that’s what makes us stand out above the rest,” Drake said. “I would say we are not in competition with anybody. We like to compliment whatever brands are out there, or whatever other businesses are out there.”
Even as a part of the market, Leeyah-Symone’s Lemonade Stand finds a way to support its community. According to Bennie Drake, some of the fruits used to flavor the lemonade are purchased from other stands at the market.
Another draw of the lemonade stand is the welcoming community it creates. Customers are greeted by Drake’s bubbly personality and may even have the pleasure of meeting Leeyah-Symone herself.
“When you come to the stand, it’s almost like you’re not in a booth, but it’s more of an experience,” Bennie Drake said.
Due to the high-quality experience they provide, Leeyah-Symone’s Lemonade Stand has built quite a loyal customer base. Jeshona and Bennie Drake mentioned that they often see the same customers each week, with many coming to the market solely for their lemonade.
To show appreciation for their customers, Jeshona Drake calls all returning customers Sweetly Infused People and gifts them a mini tote.
“When we see a customer return more than once, we officially name them SIPs,” Drake said. “Our customer base is very, very real.”
In addition to lemonade, the stand serves as a way to further education for young children. The stand often collaborates with Lazerik Winfield, a long-time friend of Jeshona Drake and the mastermind behind Mr. Zal Classroom on YouTube.
During these collaborations, Winfield brings learning kits to the stand as well as links to his online learning resources.
“It’s really engaging to see the parents and the kids are interacting with the channel and the lemonade stand,” Winfield said.
The team behind the stand encourages everyone to stop by, even if they don’t drink lemonade. Leeyah-Symone’s Lemonade Stand steps outside of the box and creates a welcoming and educational environment for anyone enjoying the market.
While the stand may be a favorite stop for many, the customers are one of the most rewarding parts of owning the stand for Jeshona and Bennie Drake.
“We just love people,” Jeshona Drake said. “I love saying hello to every little face, every grown face, every walk of life. We experience it all and we appreciate and love all of it.”
Felicity Abbott is an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and the assistant arts & entertainment editor at The Daily Illini.