SugarHouse SCENE

by Heidi Grieser

Among the many wondrous sensory experiences to be had at the Farmer’s Market, the brightest among them just might be the mint limeade stand.

Owner, Hasen Cone has kept up with the growing demand for his drink by hiring 4 other people to help him with the purposefully labor intensive production. “I came up with what I think is the perfect recipe. It looks really crazy when we get cooking, you know, with 5 people passing mason jars around, but all the measurements are very precise. When we pour the jar it comes up to the brim every time.” Hasen plays up the theatrics of making mint limeade in front of the public, “we try to provide an element of summer and make it an experience. We set up our booth so you can watch it be made,” said Hasen. “I could make a huge tub of it at home and ladle it out, but I don’t want to do something boring. I think the yumminess factor is only half the reason people like it.”

Hasen is fortunate his drink stand has become so successful, because he has a unique philosophy: “I basically think people are insane and everything I learned my whole life is wrong— people shouldn’t be working to get rich. There’s this new concept that I read about, where you work to have more time, not more money. Now that I’m doing it I meet a lot of others who really get that at the markets. Now I basically tell everybody to quit their jobs,” said Hasen, who also wanted to make it clear he’s not a bum. “I hate the idea of a job, but I love work and this is something I choose to do. But it’s only seasonal.”

Since the mint limeade stand has really taken off this year Hasen should be able to achieve his goal of being wealthy with time. And he makes it sound so simple that I’m almost convinced to quit my job. Hasen said, “I’m an adult and a creative person and I have a lot of other things that I’d like to spend my time doing- skiing, and I’m a writer, a musician, and a photographer. Having a boss or working 40 hours a week, I’m too drained to do those other projects.”