A local business' Foxborough pop-up received rave reviews from the New England Patriots, with players and staff waiting in long lines after training camp just to get a taste.

The fuss was all for Annie's Lemonade Stand, founded by a six-year-old entrepreneur from Stoneham looking to raise money for the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Council (MDSC).

Patriots coach Mike Vrabel hired Annie to set up shop at the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium on Friday, and as it turned out, the juice was well worth the squeeze (and wait).

"It's a dream," said Annie's mother, Kathleen Christensen, as the first customers of the day started to arrive. "This is so very special. I don't want it to end."

Annie's annual lemonade stand has come a long way in three short years.

When Annie, who has Down syndrome, was seven months old, Kathleen joined a mom group associated with the MDSC. Many of the women had babies around the same age, and they could share resources, developmental milestones, advice, and build connections with families in similar circumstances.

As Annie got older, her parents Kathleen and Ryan thought of creative ways to not only raise money for an organization so close to their hearts, but also to create community around their daughter.

The lemonade stand opened for business in the Christensen's front yard, and they hoped a few friends, family, and neighbors would stop by. Instead, they had to immediately scale for the demand.

"This is our third year doing our neighborhood lemonade stand," Kathleen said.

"When you think of a child's lemonade stand, you might think a couple people in your neighborhood show up. Maybe you make $50 if you're lucky. Our first year we made over $1,000. Last year we hit over $2,000 and it looked like a block party on our front lawn. People couldn't find parking – the police department and fire department came, her teachers from school came. We put flyers in our neighbor's mailboxes and posted on social media, and from there it was really organic."

With Annie's third lemonade stand scheduled for the evening of July 22, Kathleen and Ryan asked their daughter who she wanted to invite.

Annie's first choice was Mike Vrabel.

Over the course of the Patriots 2025 Super Bowl run, Annie had gotten into football. It led to Kathleen and Ryan taking her to Drake Maye's charity softball game at Polar Park in May, where the Patriots head coach posed for a photo with her.

Kathleen and Ryan assured Annie they would do their best to make get ahold of Vrabel, but tried to manage her expectations. They asked for a more realistic backup in the event Vrabel couldn't make it.

Annie's next choice was Drake Maye.

Kathleen reached out to the Patriots with a cold email. The next day, Annie heard back from Vrabel. Though he couldn't make it, he also wanted to turn lemons into lemonade.

Vrabel invited Annie and her family to training camp and asked her to set up her lemonade stand for the Patriots to enjoy after practice. He would be picking up the tab, donating to Team Annie's Angels so the players, staff, and their families could enjoy bottomless refreshments.

"Their team, Annie's Angels, raised around $25,000 for the MDSC, and they've just been amazing," said Reaghan Bik, MDSC's deputy director of development, who tagged along to lend a hand with the lemonade stand.

"This is their second year chairing the (MDSC Buddy Walk Fundraiser), and just like with the lemonade stand, they really do bring the community together. It's very organic and it's just amazing to be able to work with Annie and her family."

Annie served two varieties: classic lemonade and blueberry lemonade – which was concocted with homemade syrup.

"Annie, you got something cooking with this one right here," Vrabel said after practice, tapping on the almost-empty drink dispenser that was formerly filled to the brim with the blueberry flavor.

Just like the delight of having Annie at practice, the blueberry lemonade was super sweet.