When most people think of a youth run stand, lemonade usually comes to mind. However, at the Flintridge Clubhouse, customers are greeted by musubis, matcha cookies, and Ramune. All served by a team of young entrepreneurs with a mission to give back.

For Connor Lau, Cameron Yu, and Yuri Lee, their stand started with a simple idea. Gain experience as young entrepreneurs while giving back to their community. Rather than creating a traditional lemonade stand, the group wanted something to reflect their identities and stand out from the crowd. They chose musubis, a popular snack with roots in Japanese and Hawaiian culture, as a way to share a part of their heritage and offer their customers something unique.

Their signature item is musubi. A handheld snack made from seasoned rice with a savory filling, wrapped in a string of seaweed, a musubi is the perfect portable, flavorful, and filling snack. It has become a favorite among customers and remains their stand’s best selling product. Alongside the musubis, the group also offers matcha cookies, made with finely ground green tea powder, and Ramune, a well known Japanese soda recognized for its distinctive glass bottle and marble stopper.

That unique menu has helped the team build a loyal customer base while working towards the ambitious goal of raising $1,000 for the MusicLink and Lunchbox foundations. These organizations support children with limited access to anything from nutritious meals to access to music lessons and instruments.

A typical day at the musubi stand begins before the customers arrive. The group meets at 9 am to prepare and heat musubis, package everything, and transport their products and stand materials to the clubhouse. Once set up, they spend the next few hours serving customers before packing up around noon. While running the stand might seem straightforward, the reality is far more complicated. Like many small businesses, the team has had to work through financial challenges, questions about fair money distribution, and concerns about maintaining product quality. These obstacles haven’t always been easy, but still prove to be valuable lessons along the way.

In fact, the group believes one of the biggest misconceptions about running a stand is how much conflict and problem solving is involved. Learning to navigate disagreements, overcome setbacks, and adapt to mistakes has become just as important as making sales.

The responsibilities for the stand are shared amongst the three members. Connor and Yuri manage finances and Cameron focuses on social media and promotion. However, the team emphasizes that everyone contributes wherever help is needed, whether it’s preparing food, setting up the stand, or helping costumes.

What makes their stand especially memorable isn’t just the food. It’s the purpose behind it. By combining cultural pride with community service, the group has created something that goes beyond a simple fundraiser. Every musubi sold represents a small step toward helping children gain access to food, music, education, and opportunities.

Readers who would like to support the stand can stop by the Flintridge Clubhouse, enjoy one of the team's signature items, and help them get closer to the $1,000 fundraising goal.

For these young entrepreneurs, success isn’t measured only by dollars raised. It’s measured by the lessons learned, the challenges overcome, and the community that has rallied behind them, one musubi at a time.

To learn more and find out when you can stop by, follow them on Instagram - musubi.stopoc