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Ada’s Picnic now open in Long Neck

Mary Tapp opens store after years of building clientele at farmers markets
September 19, 2020

Story Location:
Ada’s Picnic
32497 Long Neck Road
Millsboro, DE 19966
United States

After years of cultivating a following for her picnic salads at local farmers markets, Mary Tapp has opened an Ada’s Picnic storefront off Long Neck Road in Long Neck.

Opening a store is something she’s been wanting to do, Tapp said recently. Long Neck is an area that’s seeing a lot of growth, so when the building became available, she said, she made the investment. The location  has previously housed a Capriotti’s, and most recently, Fiona’s Fish & Chips.

Three months after opening, and despite COVID-19, Tapp said having the storefront is awesome. She said she had a similarly styled sandwich shop in New Jersey right after college, but ultimately she chose a corporate career in human resource and project management. It’s tough for a young person with a small business to have a steady income and prepare for the future, so she went the corporate route, said Tapp, who uses her middle name – Ada – for the business name. 

“This was always the thing I enjoyed the most,” said Tapp, of the sandwich shop. “Dealing with the public. Cooking. I just like the sandwich shop and food business.”

Tapp described her food as simple, grandma-style recipes with high-quality ingredients.

“It’s nothing fancy, but it’s fresh and everything is homemade,” she said. “We think that’s what people like.”

The storefront features much more than a wide selection of picnic salads. There are breakfast sandwiches, traditional sandwiches, subs, hot sandwiches, specialty chicken sandwiches and traditional salads.

Tapp said the Breakfast Beach Bomb, Breakfast Burrito, Italian Stallion and chicken salad are a few of the customer favorites right now.

COVID-19 restrictions on prepared foods meant Ada’s Picnic wasn’t able to participate in farmers markets this year, but Tapp said many of her customers have made the trip to Long Neck. She said a portion of her farmers markets customers live in the Long Neck area.

However, she said if it’s allowed, Ada’s Picnic will be back on the farmers market scene in 2021.

In addition to the storefront and farmers markets, Ada’s Picnic does catering for events large and small. Soon, said Tapp, Ada’s will start carrying homemade soups, chilis and takeaway meals.

Ada’s Picnic, 32497 Long Neck Road, is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. According to the Ada’s Picnic Facebook page, delivery is now available. For more information, call 302-524-4062 or go to adaspicnic.com.

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