Opening This Store Has Been No Picnic

As shoppers hurry along Swarthmore near Mort’s Deli, they pass an empty storefront, located between Solis Salon and Paliskates. The sign in the window promises that Picnic, a gourmet food shop, will open soon, but the sign has been there for a year. One of the owners, Lisa Fielding, said in an interview last week that the travails of attempting to open Picnic has given her new perspective on her job as a film producer. ‘I like my job more,’ said Fielding, a Palisades Highlands resident. ‘The store was supposed to be fun and exciting, but what a nightmare!’ The struggle to open this store reads like a dramatic film script and includes a broken friendship, the draining of a bank account, a lawsuit and a long-distance call from Croatia ending a partnership. The story begins with two friends, Fielding and fellow resident Nancy Sanders, who research and find that there is a demand in Pacific Palisades for a gourmet food shop that could carry items like wine, cheese, prepared foods, fresh pasta and sauces, European-style pastries and gourmet items such as crackers, jams and mustards. In order to rent the space, the three initial partners–Fielding, Sanders and Daniel Nolinger–presented a plan to the landlord, the Boewinkel Trust, and were chosen over two other applicants vying for the space. This was in November 2005. Fielding hired an expeditor to help them acquire all the required city permits, but that process came to halt when Fielding and Sanders had a falling out. After the two dissolved their partnership, Fielding elected to pursue the store and sought another partner, in addition to Nolinger. ‘I had been approached by people in town about investing,’ Fielding said. ‘Enter my next nightmare.’ Of the dozen people who were interested, Fielding chose a couple that initially were excited about the store. They had two conditions: that they be general partners and that the store open before Christmas 2006. The store’s interior was torn up to the tune of $50,000, which seemed manageable with Fielding’s new partners, and a beer and wine alcohol license was finally approved by the city (but not until December). Everything seemed a go until Fielding received a call from Croatia, where the couple were vacationing, and was told ‘This deal is too rich for our blood.’ Once again Fielding needed a partner. By this time, she had sunk a $170,000 into the store, and opening day was still a distant dream ‘I was wondering that maybe this wasn’t the right idea,’ she said about opening Picnic, but then the same tenacity as that needed to get a film produced kicked in, and Fielding decided to reach out for yet another partner. This time she targeted owners of similar stores to see if they had an interest. Enter Chris Pollen, who owns Silver Lake Cheese, a store similar to the Picnic that Fielding envisioned. ‘At the end of the night, I’ve found the best partner,’ Fielding said, ‘someone who has a track record in a successful store.’ The trio–Fielding, Nolinger and Pollen’hope to open Picnic in March. Fielding is clear about the feel of the store. ‘Warm and inviting,’ she said. ‘I want to be like someone’s really well-stocked kitchen, where you can walk in and pull up a chair.’ Fielding is fortunate that she has found a person to help run the store, because one of her projects, a film based on the book ‘The Villa Golitsyn’ by Piers Paul Read, is finally going to be made, starring Annette Bening and Jeremy Irons. According to Fielding, this movie has been one of the longest films ever in development: 22 years. ‘I don’t know whether it is bull-headed determination or stupidity or a combination of both,’ she said. ‘What it really comes down to is blind faith.’ Meanwhile, Fielding continues to plug away at Picnic. ‘I can’t bear it when I know it’s a good idea and someone says that it’s just not going to happen,’ she said.