By Karen Parr-Moody

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Care for a peppery note to your lemonade? Order the ginger-infused version. Feel the need for some heat? Try the jalapeno-infused version.

These are just a few of the 20 made-to-order lemonade flavors at Not Just Lemonade. Operated by Mishelle Falsetto, it is one of the more popular booths at Clarksville’s Downtown Market, according to the market’s organizer, Matthew Nixon.

The market, which occurs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday at One Public Square, is filled with dozens of booths. That is why Falsetto says she is “thankful and grateful” for the customers who have frequented her booth since 2010.

“They have so much to choose from,” Falsetto said.

But within the Not Just Lemonade world of flavors, customers also have a lot from which to choose. Falsetto says the most popular flavor is the strawberry lemonade. There are also lemonades flavored with basil, mint, lavender, cucumber, blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, cherry and pineapple.

“Jalapeno is the most unique,” Falsetto said. “People talk about that a lot – either they like it or are terrified by it or are just on the verge.”

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Christin Weston pours a custom-made lemonade for one of the many customers who flock to Not Just Lemonade./Karen Parr-Moody

Falsetto has no culinary background; in fact, she was once a medic in the Air Force. It was her son, 13-year-old Steele, who convinced her to pursue the idea four years ago for a simple reason: To raise money to buy Legos for him.

“We were at my mother’s home in Pennsylvania, just sitting on the porch one day, and he was trying to come up with ways to make money,” Falsetto said. “He and my mother came up with the idea to sell lemonade.”

Falsetto and her mother, Sandee Davis, brainstormed until they came up with something no one else was doing at the Downtown Market.

“We started out with just a couple of flavors and flew by the seat of our pants,” Falsetto said.

While Steele helps his mom operate the booth, his brother Cole helps with the behind-the-scenes prep work. Each cup of lemonade sells for $3. It is $5 for a Mason jar that customers can bring back for a $3 refill.

Falsetto said that creating a thriving small business has been a surprise. But what she really enjoys is meeting people at the market each weekend.

“They’re become our friends instead of just customers.”

Karen Parr-Moody began a career as a New York journalist, working as a fashion reporter for Women’s Wear Daily, a beauty editor for Young Miss and a beauty and fashion writer for both In Style and People magazines. Regionally, she has been a writer at The Leaf-Chronicle newspaper and currently writes about arts and culture for Nashville Arts magazine each month.