Jane Nicoletti at her family’s design store, Nicolette’s for the Home. (Photo credit: David Benthal)
You’re not alone if you thought there was a Nicolette of Nicolette’s for the Home. But actually, it’s Jayne.
The name of the home interior design studio is a nod to the family that started the business decades ago as a thriving garden center in Massapequa. “My mother-in-law decided to start a little gift shop at the original Nicolette’s, and it just snowballed!” says Jayne Nicoletti, who runs the Southold outpost of the family business at 53245 Main Road.
Nicoletti and her husband, John, live in Aquebogue, and when they’re not busy running the garden center and design studio businesses (kitchens are a particular specialty), the couple make cooking videos on YouTube (pro tip: check out the episode on how to make lemon ricotta pasta), the dovetailing of Nicoletti’s former career in the music and entertainment industry and her current role overseeing Nicolette’s for the Home.
“John and I started doing these food videos as an outlet during COVID, and it just grew. We have so much fun with it,” she says. Whether cooking in her own kitchen or guiding clients’ home design projects, Nicoletti’s creative spirit is at the crux of it all. “I’m so happy when I see the final pictures [of a design project] and think wow, that looks amazing,” she says. “I love the transformations and I love helping people be happy in their homes.”
These are a few of Jayne Nicoletti’s favorite things:
Favorite casual local restaurant On the Docks (177 Meeting House Creek Road, Aquebogue, 631-886-1160). Sometimes my cousin comes in from Queens and we always go there after we go shopping. They have the best wings. We always sit at the bar with the rest of the locals, and the owner is a doll. In the summer, they have a small deck and we go sit by water.
Favorite local restaurant for a special occasion We like to go to Touch of Venice (28350 Main Road, Cutchogue, 631-298-5851). I love all the food there but the bread with oil and pesto — it’s out of this world!
Favorite local winery Hands down, Macari (150 Bergen Ave., Mattituck, 631-298-0100). They make my favorite reds. We’re wine club members. It’s beautiful and we just like the vibe.
Favorite place for a sweet treat Ali Katz Kitchen (55 North Road, Mattituck, 631-298-7694). They have all these great desserts. One of our designers brought in their tala loaf to the design studio one day. It’s amazing! It’s almost like chocolate bread but it’s also kind of like a cake. It’s my fave!
Favorite local store for a new addition to your wardrobe Next door to us is a salon called Main Roots (53155 Main Road, Southold, 631-407-5700) and they have a little boutique inside. They have the cutest things and the women who work there are so sweet.
Favorite North Fork antique store There’s a small thrift store in Southold that I found by accident when I was walking my dog, Sandy, one day. It’s called the North Fork Parish Outreach (56025 Main Road, Southold, 631-477-6607). They have the best stuff. I found an old-school lens for my camera there, they have great sweaters, cool kitchen things. They have really good stuff! It’s a hidden gem.
Favorite North Fork coffee spot My neighbors down the road, NoFo Moto (5570 Sound Ave., Jamesport)! Their coffee is so freaking amazing.
Favorite place to source great fish Hands down, Braun’s (30840 Main Road, Cutchogue, 631-734-6700).
Favorite place to food shop for special items on the North Fork Southold General (54180 Main Road, Southold, 631-458-1275) has a nice assortment of specialty items. People don’t know about it because they go to eat or drink coffee, but there’s a shelf in the front with things that you can’t find at a typical supermarket.
Favorite North Fork farm stand Northville Farms (5333 Sound Ave., Riverhead, 631-722-3229). They’re down the road from us and family owned. In the summer, there’s an old man who sits in the back shelling peas. It’s old school!
Amy Zavatto is the Editor-in-Chief for southforker, northforker and Long Island Wine Press. She’s a wine, spirits, and food journalist whose work appears in Wine Enthusiast, InsideHook.com, MarthaStewart.com, the New York Post, Liquor.com, SevenFifty Daily, Imbibe, Men’s Journal and many others. She’s the author of The Big Book of Bourbon Cocktails, Prosecco Made Me Do It: 60 Seriously Sparkling Cocktails, Forager’s Cocktails: Botanical Mixology with Fresh, Natural Ingredients, and The Architecture of the Cocktail. She is a respected judge for the American Craft Spirits Association’s annual small-production spirits competition, and has moderated numerous panels on the topics of wine, spirits, cocktails, and regional foodways. She is the former Deputy Editor for the regional celebratory publications, Edible Manhattan and Edible Brooklyn, as well as the former Executive Director of the Long Island Merlot Alliance. She is a member of the New York chapter of the international organization of women leaders in food, wine, and spirits, Les Dames d’Escoffier. The proud daughter of a butcher, Amy is originally from Shelter Island, N.Y., where she developed a deep respect for the East End’s natural beauty and the importance of preserving and celebrating it and its people.
