A nine-year-old Detroit boy's homemade popcorn sales stand has become a hot business, with bursting profits going toward helping rescue his city from financial ruin.

Joshua Smith's little lemonade and popcorn kiosk has drawn more than just a handful of streetside customers, raising more than $1,200 since he opened the stand on Monday.

"It made me want to celebrate," Joshua told CBC Radio's As It Happens, after surpassing his fundraising goal of $1,000 to help solve Detroit's money woes. "I did a little penguin move from the dining room to the living room and I was like, 'Let's celebrate!'"

Flynn Smith, the boy's father, said he has no illusions about what kind of impact $1,200 can have on Detroit, which has a $200-million US budget deficit.

But Joshua wanted to do whatever he could, nonetheless.

"I just hope that we be a good city, and that's the conclusion," Joshua said.

Smith said his son got the idea to open a lemonade stand last week, when he heard on the radio that the city was broke.

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"He understands broke," Smith said. "He and my wife got into a deeper discussion later and unpacked the hows and the whys, so it turned into quite an educational opportunity."

Prices for popcorn and refreshments at Joshua Smith's streetside stand. The nine-year-old is donating all profits to the City of Detroit. (Kathleen Galligan/Associated Press)

Joshua got the idea to sell only lemonade and donate the profits to the city. His parents eventually convinced him the freshly squeezed idea might be a bit labour-intensive.

"Popcorn's not without its share of labour, but trying to sell hundreds of cups of lemonade — all that sugar and fresh lemons?" Smith said.

"So we came up with a popcorn stand," he said. "We do a lot of homemade popcorn in our family for a snack."

Joshua has already received a personal phone call from Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, who urged the youngster to keep the money and put it into a college fund.

But Joshua and his parents agreed that doing so would be disingenuous, when Joshua's primary goal was always to help his cash-strapped city.

Joshua said he plans to close shop on Friday, but is willing to return to sell lemonade, water and homemade munchies again in the future to donate the profits to the Motor City.