Reinvented lemonade is couple’s recipe for success

First, David and Katy Katz fell in love with Port Washington and Ozaukee County. Then, they were welcomed by the business community. Now, they’re hoping to make their mark on the local food vendor scene with their LemonZello lemonade stand that has a unique twist.

Their lemonade recipe features a lemon infused simple syrup derived from a 24-hour lemon oil extraction process, which when combined with fresh lemons creates a preservative and artificial-flavor-free lemonade that has quickly become the talk of the farmers market, Katy said.

“We got praised from our first hour,” Katy said. “One of our customers told us it was the best lemonade of her life.”

LemonZello debuted two weeks ago at the Port Washington Farmers Market, Katy said.

Local business owners welcomed their stand, she said, like the owner of Fork and Tap who greeted them and ordered two lemonades.

“Soon she came back and ordered four. She said hers was stolen,” Katy said.

Such a friendly welcome was not expected, David said.

“We didn’t expect that reception or to have that customer reaction,” he said.

As a former teacher, Katy said, making lemonade in front of families has been a highlight because it allows her to get the children engaged with the process.

David and Katy said they found a new home in Port by accident four years ago.

“We moved from Portland, Ore., via Arizona,” David said. “Port was our final destination, although it was off our radar.”

Katy said they needed to move to Wisconsin for David’s new job as a clinical assistant professor in anatomy and physiology at Marquette University and initially looked at a 30-mile range around the university but found no appealing options.

“We were five days out and we changed those numbers on the realty sites,” Katy said. “And this house in Port kept popping up.”

After touring the house and the city, she said, they fell in love with the community that is like a “Hallmark” movie.

“We are water and mountain people,” Katy said. “Wisconsin doesn’t have mountains, but Port has the lake.”

Port’s proximity to Milwaukee has helped with commutes and will be especially handy as the “whole family is going to college” this fall, David said.

Katy will be studying for a master’s degree in mental health counseling at Marquette this year, she said, while their son will study theater at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

“We will definitely save on gas with carpools,” Katy said.

David and Katy said their interest in food vending started a decade ago when they would visit farmers markets in Arizona.

Later in Oregon, they saw that state’s bustling food truck and stand scene and started their own ventures.

Their first business was Soup and Suds, pairing homemade soups with sodas or beers, Katy said.

Then, they tried selling cookies, she said. After a trip to the Middle East, they shifted to serving bean-based dishes.

“We tried those ideas with friends and family,” David said, adding the timing was not yet right for opening a stand.

The idea of lemonade came while they were in Mexico for a conference last year, David said.

“We saw a lemonade truck and noticed it was the busiest and the customers were the most happy,” he said. “We both thought there was something there.”

Within a week, David said, they had signed LemonZello up for an entire summer’s worth of festivals.

The first question they asked themselves, David said, was how they could make a LemonZello lemonade better than an “ordinary” lemonade.

“We asked, ‘What will we do different?’” David said.

Katy said that after a lot of experimentation they decided the most flavorful thing to do was create their own simple syrup infused with the “essence” of the lemon from the skins.

Their biggest help in working through the bureaucratic and start-up difficulties was a fellow food vendor, Paula Race of 2 Friends and a Blender.

Race makes dry powder packets that can be combined with spirits or nonalcoholic liquids to make tropical drinks.

Already, Katy said, they feel like a part of Port’s small business community.

“People asked us for advice on starting a food stand,” she said. “Even stuff like where we found the concrete buckets for the tent.”

Looking ahead, David said, they may fill out their fall menu with hot chocolate and cider.

They hope to eventually expand, possibly into a truck, he said, noting they want to support local charities in the future and offer discounts for first responders.

At Cedarburg’s Strawberry Fest, they offered a strawberry Boba add-on for the lemonade  that was “really popular,” and will now sell blueberry and mango Boba flavors, Katy said.

They also have fresh fruits and berries to mix into the lemonade, she said.

Katy said they are considering catering events.

LemonZello will be at the Port Washington farmers market this summer, as well as at Ozaukee County festivals including Fish Days.