The Picnic Cafe: Timeless and Timely

June 11, 2020

A plethora of take out foods are found at The Picnic Cafe in Belle Meade.

The Picnic is at once timely and timeless with its takeout options of pimento cheese, chicken salad, tortilla soup and coconut cake.

On a cold day this past January, the ladies of The Picnic, the classic chicken salad and tea outpost for the Belle Meade set, were getting ready for a TV shoot with Joe Elmore of Tennessee Crossroads. While the Picnic isn’t exactly the backroads, it contains everything we love about backroad eats; hospitality, warmth, great unpretentious food and community. It’s hard to imagine anything better than the Picnic’s chicken salad, but there is, and that is the sense of community the cafe inspires.

Owner Kathy Bonnet started selling sandwiches in 1983, pedaling them door-to-door in Hillsboro Village. She found a permanent space inside the then Belle Meade Drugstore, where she would take your order, then go into the kitchen and make your sandwich. When the strip center housing the drugstore was torn down, The Picnic relocated to where they are now, behind the Mapco on Harding Pike.

Locations have changed but regulars (and new customers alike) remain devoutly loyal to The Picnic. Customers range from employees at neighboring St Thomas Hospital, to ladies that lunch, to the men’s group that meets every Wednesday (for coffee) to busy folks hustling out with carry-out bags of tea punch and pimento cheese.

Photo 1: Coconut, Red Velvet and Caramel Cake at the Picnic.

Photo 2: Owner Kathy Bonnet at The Picnic with their signature fruit tea.

Kathy knows most everyone by name, and if she doesn’t, chances are she knows your mama or sister. The all women staff hasn’t changed in over 17 years. The women buzz around with a sense of purpose and familiarity in the light breezy blue and white dining room. If you’re in a hurry you can buzz in and get chicken salad, tortilla soup, and biscuits from the to-go case. Life’s a picnic at The Picnic Café.