Think of it as a lemonade stand on steroids.

Brother-and-sister team Cedric and Alivia King opened the Snack Shack three weeks ago on their front lawn.

Since then, they've been selling drinks and goodies to students and passers-by from their little wooden concession stand at Gloria and Coffee roads, across from Downey High School in Modesto.

The stand with hand-drawn signs was 12-year-old Cedric's idea, something he came up with when he switched with his sister from charter to home school.

"When I was little, I was thinking of opening my own business," he said. "So with free time now, I could do it."

So he asked his dad, a contractor, to build a booth and recruited his 13-year-old sister to run it with him.

They Snack Shack is open from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 to 3 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The budding entrepreneurs sell coffee and hot chocolate before school, and sodas, energy drinks, chips, cookies and candy after school.

The pair's mom, Heather King, said they are getting a permit and registering with the city.

They buy their snacks in bulk at Costco and then sell them for 10 cents (for candy) to $2 (for energy drinks). Cedric says they've made about $50, but almost all of that has gone back into buying more snacks to sell.

"We haven't spent the money," Cedric said. "I'm trying to be able to buy new products, trying to save it up more. I want to make it bigger in the future."

His sister has a specific goal in mind for her share: A pet snake.

Alivia said she likes working at the Snack Shack. "I get to meet people, and I always tell my mom, 'I like working a lot.' " she said. "We're home schooled and usually doing schoolwork all day. This is more fun."

She said they have regulars and average about 20 customers each day.

Cedric and Alivia said they plan to stick with the shop and maybe expand it in the spring.