‘225 Dine’: 7-year-old BR entrepreneur finds sweet spot with Leroy’s Lip-Smack’n Lemonade

With help from his parents and Triumph Kitchen’s Sommer and Chris Wadsworth, 7-year-old Leroy Hayward may have hit upon a business that could be sustainable for years to come. As 225 Dine reports, the young entrepreneur was born two-and-a-half months early, weighing just four pounds, seven ounces. He had contracted infections at birth and was diagnosed with slow development. He has hearing loss in both ears and a facial nerve injury. However, after going through developmental programs at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital and being put on growth hormones, Hayward’s life improved. At 4 years old, he participated in Lemonade Day, creating his own stand and his own variation on the drink to raise money for a good cause. At this year’s Louisiana Lemonade Day contest, his Lipsmack’n Lemonade was named Baton Rouge’s best tasting lemonade. During the event, Hayward and his family met the Wadsworths, who were judges at the event and have helped him turn his lemonade into a business. An LLC has been created and Hayward’s lemonade stand can now be found at events such as the Baton Rouge Food Truck Wround-Up and Fęte Rouge, as well as businesses such as Cupcake Allie, which features the drink as an ingredient in its lemonade cupcake. Access the full story and get your fill of more local culinary news in the new 225 Dine e-newsletter.