Not just a lemonade stand—meet the mother-son duo of Cam’s Lemonade

What started as a simple lemonade stand for Cristal Johnson to instill values of hard work in her son quickly grew into a fully functional, branded business. We talked to Cristal about the journey of Cam’s Lemonade—and it’s a story you don’t want to miss.

Cristal Johnson wanted to teach Cam the values of hard work

In the summer of 2022, Cristal found her son Cam constantly asking to do things, spend money, go to Disney World—you know, typical seven-year-old thoughts with no concept of money.

Cristal was a single mom and at the time, worked full-time as a respiratory therapist in Jasper, Alabama. She was preparing to sell a few things at her house and saw the opportunity for Cam to learn that “money didn’t grow on trees.”

“I made a post on Facebook saying ‘Hey, I’m having this expo in April—come see me and Cam while you’re there.’ Well, people showed up more so for Cam than they did for me. We brought in the crowd and it spread. Within that one day, I think we had 500 people share pictures.”

Next thing she knew, people were asking Cristal about the next one, and local newspapers wanted to cover the story of this fast-growing lemonade stand.

Flash forward to the summer of 2023

About three weekends into last summer, Cristal noticed a lot of improvement in Cam and wanted to do the same for other kids.

“I talked to Cam about it and decided to put a post on Facebook saying we were ‘hiring’ for a greeter. [In the post] I said, have your child send me their ‘resume’ and include what they want to be when they grow up. I was going to get them to do what Cam was doing—shake hands, say hello, stuff like that.

I got hundreds of shares, and not 10 hours later I got a call from the Department of Labor because someone reported me.”

Shocked, Cristal canceled the event and explained the situation online, explaining that it was never about working; she was just trying to help.

Fox News, The Washington Post and other major news sources got a hold of the story, Cristal started getting calls about setting up a GoFundMe and local businesses reached out wanting to buy lemonade.

“That was a turning point for me. Now I sell Cam’s Lemonade bottles in Jasper, Hueytown, Pleasant Grove and other places.

Last week, I quit my full-time job.”

Known as a “hometown hero” to her neighbors, Cristal never forgets the reason she started this journey in the first place.

“I’m a single parent. I’ve heard so many times that ‘a woman can’t raise a man,’ and I hate that.

I want people, especially single mothers, to see that they can shift the narrative of how it takes a two-parent household to raise well-rounded kids.”

Where you can find Cam’s Lemonade

Anyone else craving lemonade after reading that story?

Lucky for you, Cam’s Lemonade is available at Piggly Wiggly’s around the Greater Birmingham Area.

• Bluff Park, 2148 Tyler Rd #104, Hoover, AL 35226
• Hueytown, 104 River Square Plaza, Hueytown, AL 35023
• McCalla, 4750 Eastern Valley Rd, McCalla, AL 35111

“You could have asked me a year and a half ago about quitting my job and selling lemonade and I would have laughed at you.

I’m just so thankful. I’ve helped make sure Cam stays humble. When he goes to school, his friends think he’s ‘the man,’ and when he’s asked about it, I want him to say ‘Hey, you can do it too.'”

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