Young entrepreneur’s desperate fight to save Jesse’s Shop at Dunnington Reserve, Coogee

A 12-year-old entrepreneur has launched a desperate fight to stop his much-loved stall from being shut down.

Jesse Lane is the friendly face behind Jesse’s Shop at Dunnington Reserve in the beachside Sydney suburb of Coogee.

The stall which operates on weekends and school holidays is a one stop shop for locals selling everything from cold drinks, bottled water and iceblocks to dog treats, sunscreen and Aeroguard.

Some of the proceeds are donated to the Australian Skin Cancer Foundation.

But not all residents are on board with several complaining to Randwick Council, calling for his enterprise to be shut down.

Jesse hopes to save his stall and has collected almost 4,000 signatures of support so far. He has also made a formal submission to the council.

‘It’s fun chatting to people. There’s a few regulars who come by,’ the Bronte Public School Year Six student told Radio 2GB host Jim Wilson.

‘I’m there every day from 8am-5pm weekends and holidays, unless it’s raining.’ 

Jesse’s Shop has been running for several years, after beginning as an honesty box selling herbs.

The stall originally started at the front of his house before one of his regulars suggested he would make more money by moving it to a beachside reserve down the road.

‘He’s been the one that’s driven the whole thing,’ Jesse’s mum Catherine Tiney explained.

She’s spoken to some of the locals who want to shut down the stall.

‘One was asking whether it was right at his age to have a commercial venture like this and that does it give an unrealistic expectation,’ Ms Tiney said.

‘But it’s so much better with him down at the park than his brother who’s on the Xbox all day.’

‘The thing is, everyone knows Jesse so he comes home telling us about the conversations he’s had with everyone. It’s big part of why he enjoys it.’

Ms Tiney hopes Jesse save his stall and admitted the council have been great in their dealings to date.

‘I would love everyone to be on board,’ she said.

‘How can we make it work for everyone? Jesse has made a compromise by trimming back his hours.’

Regular customers have rallied behind Jesse in his fight to save his stall.

‘It’s so refreshing to see a kid of his age showing initiative and interacting with the community,’ Coogee resident Melissa Archer told the Daily Telegraph.

‘He brightens up peoples’ days.’

‘That’s not encouraging future generations to think outside the box, and have a go,’ she said.

Randwick Council first became aware of what it has described as a ‘mini convenience store’ late last year.

‘While we admire the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of the young man, there are restrictions on commercial operations in public parks,’ spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia.

‘We have received a number of complaints from people concerned about the precedent of commercialisation of the park as well as concern about the safety and welfare of a young boy trading and handling money in a public place

‘Council has taken a very sensitive approach noting the boy’s age and over the past months we have been speaking with the boy and his parents reminding them about the restrictions in place. 

‘Despite this, the practice has continued and we have now received a formal application from the boy seeking approval to operate the stand. Council staff are in the process of assessing the application.’

The family will accept the decision if Jesse’s Shop is shut down.

‘He’s had fun and he’s learned a lot from it,’ Ms Tiney said.