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Featured Companies
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Retailer Profile: Fall Classics
| Ellen C. Wells
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>> Published Date: 12/15/2009
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Eastern Long Island has much to attract “city people,” as we natives call those who visit from New York City and its surroundings. Sandy beaches, nightclubs, art galleries, celebrity watching and views of “the country” are some of the draws, for sure. But as these folks drive to their vacation homes, weekend rentals or family visits, it’s more than likely they’ll stop at one of the Island’s many farm stands for fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers. And if they’re traveling along the North Fork, there’s a good possibility that the farm stand they stop in is run by a Gabrielsen.
George Gabrielsen and his family own farm stands in the Riverhead/Aquebogue/Jamesport area. In mid-October, I stopped in at Gabrielsen’s Country Farm to catch up with George. His Fall Festival, which begins in September, was in full swing—a pick-your-own pumpkin patch; small petting zoo of goats, cows and alpacas; hayrides; and a corn maze. Two mazes, in fact.
“It was always just a corn maze, but we found that teenagers go only so many years to a corn maze before it becomes old hat,” George says. “We now know that the new generation is bringing their little kids. And they don’t really want to go in there [corn maze]. They want to see the animals. It’s amazing. And the hayride and the pumpkin picking, that’s a big thing. The dynamics have really changed in the industry in these past couple of years.” Just in case the little tykes do want to experience a corn maze, George’s Fall Festival has a small one built from straw bales.
Because the Fall Festival has become such a draw for parents with small children, George has brought in other non-autumn attractions, such as the big, inflatable “bounce house” that you see at every five-year-old’s birthday party. “Of all the things to do here, the kids love the [bounce house],” George says. “They just love it!”
On a peak day, George and his staff can expect about 5,000 stopping by to pick pumpkins, enjoy the activities and load up their vehicles with mums, cornstalks and other fall items. The fall of 2009 was a bit of a challenge, however, due to our industry’s No. 1 party spoiler—the weather.
The weekend I visited, the forecast called for a wet and windy Nor’easter to hit early on. My Saturday visit with George was nothing but blue skies. “They [weather forecasters] can ruin it, because they just say ‘Rain! Rain!’” George explains. “People hear that and say ‘Well, I’m not going to drive out there.’” It’s a hard hit to take during the fall, when much of the business is weekend family “agri-tainment.”
Taking the Reins
George may not have much power over the weather, but he decided to get involved and help control that other “big thing” that influences our industry. Last fall, he ran for and won a seat on the Riverhead Town Council. He didn’t see much common sense in the town government and felt the town’s decision makers were not making good business decisions. Running the farm stands and its growing operations, George knew he had the right hands-on business experience to help set the town’s direction. Speculating that the Town Council hadn’t seated a farmer in about 100 years, George says, “Now that I’m on the board, the farmer will have a friend, because I see their side and know what the issues are.”
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