When life gave Halls Lake teen Kadyn Gilooly lemons last summer, she embraced the old cliché and immediately got to work figuring out how to turn them into lemonade.
The now 14-year-old is one of the top up-and-coming motocross racers in the province. After a knee injury ended her 2025 season prematurely, Gilooly used her spare time putting together a business plan for her new venture, The Lemon Bar, which has been making the rounds across Haliburton County this summer.
A mobile refreshment trailer serving homemade lemonade and other specialty drinks, Gilooly has been busy getting her new brand out to the public in recent weeks. She was at Snowflake Meadows’ magical festival fundraiser and the Haliburton County Fair in June, the Minden Canada Day celebrations July 1 and served at her first birthday party last Saturday (June 27).
Gilooly said she plans to attend the Norland Fair July 9 and the Sunset Social event in Head Lake Park in Haliburton July 11.
The concept, she said, was born out of a desire to keep busy while she was hurt. The branding and menu were established last summer, with Gilooly approaching her dad, Kieran, who owns Northern HVAC, for a business loan. She wanted to use the money to repurpose an old trailer on her parents’ property into The Lemon Bar’s new digs, though eventually found a better deal online.
“I got the idea from motocross – there have been a few stands up at my races and I always looked forward to trying them out. So, I figured why not do something like that for myself,” Gilooly said. “We bought a lot of the equipment and syrups last year, so we were ready to launch right away as soon as the weather started getting better.”
The young business owner said “we squeeze to please” with every beverage. While traditional lemonade is a favourite, there are other flavourful options including the shark attack, sugar cloud, peach paradise, pink dragon, the kraken and mermaid escape – a sugar-free option.
The venture has given Gilooly some vital hands-on experience. She’s learning how to manage people, with her friends volunteering their time to help during events, where they split tips. She’s also getting a taste for budgeting, marketing, customer service and inventory management.
She hopes to keep busy through summer, saying her stand is available for bookings. People can contact: the.lemon. bar.kg@gmail.com. Gilooly said she plans to save her earnings for her postsecondary education. She wants to get into anesthesiology one day.
“I’ve always wanted to do something in the medical field. I know it takes a long time to become a surgeon, so I’m looking into becoming an anesthesiologist assistant or something, just to cut down on the school time,” Gilooly said.
Racing will still be a priority – she is currently the second-ranked racer in Ontario in her age and race category. Now fully healed from her torn posterior cruciate ligament, Gilooly said her goal is to finish first overall. The season runs until late October.
“I want that champions jacket at the end of the year. My brother has one and I want to get one for myself,” Gilooly said.
