a deli order at the Narragansett business.
Company: The Picnic Basket
Owners: Mark Zimmer and Doreen O’Malley
Location: 20 Kingstown Road, Narragansett
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Employees: eight in the summer; four in the fall
Type of business: upscale deli and sandwich shop
Annual revenue: WND
Tucked in a small shopping plaza with a local surf shop, across from the town library and down the street from the Towers in Narragansett, The Picnic Basket offers a smorgasbord of hearty sandwiches and goodies that appeal to residents and tourists alike. And with sandwiches like The Fatty, the ED-wich, Cajun Cowabunga and The Moonwich, it’s virtually impossible not to find a tasty combination.
Born from a search for good food, The Picnic Basket was a whim of a business venture for owners Mark Zimmer and his wife Doreen O’Malley.
“Mark went to URI and he always said there were no good lunch places,” said O’Malley. “He got an accounting degree, but knew he didn’t want to be an accountant, so he said, ‘Why don’t we open a sandwich shop?’”
Both transplants from New Jersey since 1986, the couple decided to stay in South County, and a friend riding her bike in Narragansett alerted the pair to a place for rent on Kingstown Road. They opened The Picnic Basket in April of 1993 and have been serving customers with a smile ever since. Word-of-mouth has turned the cozy deli – complete with outdoor dining, organic foods and a wooden grizzly bear holding a welcome sign – into a local hotspot.
Tourists and residents crowd into the small deli during the summer, with flip-flops and bathing suits and sand on their feet, filling the shop with the smell of beach and sun block. But unless you’re a resident or someone who’s heard about it from a friend of a friend, The Picnic Basket is an undiscovered treasure and gem for regulars.
“We’ve never advertised,” O’Malley said. “It’s really been just word-of-mouth.”
For those lucky enough to discover it, The Picnic Basket offers more than 50 regular sandwiches, wraps and veggie sandwiches, along with specials, chowder, chili and soups. There are pasta salads, fruit salad, potato salad, and Zimmer’s famous cole slaw. There are chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies the size of a dinner plate, as well as Rice Krispie treats, which O’Malley said Zimmer is very particular about making. The shop only uses Boar’s Head meat and other products, and gets its bread delivered fresh each day from a local bakery.
Zimmer is the cook; O’Malley said she’s in charge of preparing the sandwiches – and at a breakneck speed. Something unique to this sandwich shop is the customized items, like The Manny and Bob’s Turkey Sub, named after their creators. It’s just one of the ways the couple creates a relationship with every customer.
“We try to name the sandwiches after our customers,” O’Malley said. They’re always experimenting with new concoctions, and said they’re open to suggestions on menu items. “We make something up and if people like it, we try to keep it on the menu.”
O’Malley is constantly adding new things, and retiring older ones that didn’t go over well. The weirdest request at The Picnic Basket, she said, was the beer-cheddar spread (made on-site) with corned beef, a customer’s invention. Needless to say, it didn’t last long, but occasionally, people will still order it.
“We love all our customers, so we try to know them all by name, but it’s hard sometimes,” O’Malley said. When asked whether the couple had considered opening another location given its success, she said: “We like to be here and know what’s going on. We like to make our own food and know all the recipes. We work seven days a week. We don’t get a day off, but we’re used to it.”
And in the fall, it’s not as hectic.
Despite being swamped on most summer days, O’Malley said the emphasis is always on having fun.
“It has to be – no one would want to come into work otherwise,” she said.
Since opening, O’Malley and Zimmer have personalized their sandwich shop – down to the soy chips and crackers that O’Malley prefers to the rawhide dog lollipops inspired by the couple’s dog Jasmine. The Picnic Basket is also always looking to sell local products, and sells a local soda made by Kay-Koola and owner Joe Wold.
“We really care about what we put out to the public,” O’Malley said. “I love
my employees; they’re great. And I love working with the public, and eating
a good sandwich for lunch. There’s no job I would rather have.”
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