Long Island's luxury picnic trend grows

Monica Lipton and her husband, Michael, took a 25th anniversary trip to Tuscany — in their own Long Beach backyard.

The Liptons hired Let’s Picnic Long Island to set up an evening luxury picnic for two dozen people, with a long, low table set with lemons and eucalyptus branches for an Italian villa feel. The decor included linen tablecloth, candles, real china, cloth napkins, flatware and glasses. Guests sat on pillows on the ground. 

"I was blown away," says Monica, 50, an interior designer. "The best part of it is you don’t have to clean up."

The Liptons’ party was $1,800, but companies charge by the person and prices can start at $275 for two people, depending on location of the picnic and optional add-ons such as faux flowers or beach umbrellas. In addition to presenting at people’s homes, the companies also set up on beaches or at parks where picnicking is permitted. The client usually provides their own food and drink, typically small sandwiches or sushi. Events are typically two hours, but clients can purchase additional time.

Demand has grown for bachelorette parties, sunset picnics on the beach, East End vacationers wanting to celebrate, and even bridesmaid proposal events, during which a bride invites their prospective bridesmaids and asks them to be part of her wedding party, owners say. Clients work with the company owners to choose themes, colors and other details. "One of the first things I ask them is ‘Do you have something in mind, any ideas?’" says Leah Kearns, owner of The Picnic Lady. "A lot of people struggle with how to coordinate things."

Julie Romano, 36, an orthopedic exercise specialist from Oceanside, purchased an afternoon picnic for $275 from Long Island Luxury Picnics & Events as a gift for her parents to celebrate her mother’s 70th birthday. The couple was instructed where to show up for the June picnic at Northport Harbor; passersby stopped to add their best wishes. "It was a date night for them, but during the day," Romano says.

Here are three companies offering picnic services on Long Island:

Let’s Picnic Long Island 

PRICES START AT $279 for two people for two hours, with added fees depending on location, taxes and extras such as umbrellas or charcuterie boards

CONTACT letspicniclongisland.com 

Owner Debora Ferrante, 55, of Long Beach, started Let’s Picnic Long Island after the pandemic. "I said, ‘This looks like fun.’ I loved the joy of it. I told my husband, ‘I want to start this luxury picnic business.’ He looked at me like I was insane," Ferrante says.

But when she started researching, she found that while there weren’t a lot of picnic businesses on Long Island at the time, there were many in California and Florida, which encouraged her.

"Mostly, we cater to bridal showers and birthday parties," Ferrante says. "Most people do the sunset. The second runner-up is brunch." Let’s Picnic can handle up to 50 guests. Ferrante operates Thursdays through Sundays from the end of May through October, with September and October being her busiest months. "It gets crazy in the fall," she says.

Long Island Luxury Picnics and Events

PRICES START AT $275 for two people, with optional add-ons for additional fee

CONTACT longislandluxurypicnics.com 

Owner Gabby Radow, 31, of West Babylon, is busiest in the summer — Long Island Luxury Picnics and Events will mark two years in August. Radow says she works with a lot of sunset celebrations on beaches, in parks and at vacation rentals in the Hamptons.

She’s also partnered with other small business owners for joint events, some of which are indoors, such as blanket making workshops and charm bracelet making sessions.

The Picnic Lady

PRICES START AT $325 for two people within 10 miles of Bayport, with optional add-ons and farther distances for additional fee

CONTACT thepicniclady.com 

Leah Kearns, 41, of Bayport, says her most popular request is bachelorette parties.

Kearns will help clients who want her to take care of the food for their events for an additional fee, she says, working with local caterers and businesses. "What I really try to focus on is different varieties of charcuterie boards," she says, adding she can accommodate dietary restrictions and allergies. She’ll also bring juice, iced tea, lemonade and other nonalcoholic drinks, as well as ice and will handle desserts. "I’m not making the food myself; I arrange it, I pick it up and I deliver it for them," she says.

That food service is especially helpful to people having picnics on the beach or in parks, she says. Clients and their guests can just show up. She did one party, she says, for a group that was on a boat all day and wanted to arrive back with everything ready for them.

Lexie Frazier, 27, a pharmacist from Columbus, Ohio, hired The Picnic Lady to organize a picnic for 12 women during her bachelorette weekend in the Hamptons. "She had really beautiful imagery on her Instagram," Frazier says. The picnic was set up in the backyard next to the pool. "It was exactly what we needed for a private chef to come to the house in Water Mill," Frazier says.

By Beth Whitehouse

beth.whitehouse@newsday.comBethWhitehouse1

Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.