In a world where economic news is anything but positive, it's rare to find success stories. But fortunately for Florida's LGBT community, some entrepreneurs are thriving and finding success with multiple businesses catering to a niche market.
In Orlando, partners Eddie Nickell and Nick Olivieri have found success with their rapidly growing Funky Monkey Restaurant Group. Their extensive careers in food and beverage and fine dining has spawned five restaurants within central Florida.
And in Tampa, Steve Donahue and his business partners have created an entertainment dynasty with his Florida Entertainment Group, which runs the wildly popular Ybor City night clubs G. Bar, Honey Pot, The Social and The Eagle. Donahue's eye for entertainment continues to bring capacity crowds to the clubs, which have helped revitalize the historic Ybor City district of Tampa.
Business, they say, begets business. And these businessmen seem to know exactly what they're talking about.
Monkey Business
Nickell and Olivieri are partners in both life and in business. They met 21 years ago in Dayton, Ohio, and now they own and manage the successful and rapidly growing Funky Monkey Restaurant Group.
Both men have extensive careers in food and beverage and fine dining. Nickell started at the age of 14, and has since worked in some of the best restaurants in the country, including a five-star restaurant in Boca Raton.
He and Olivieri first came to Orlando in 2003 to open the Grande Lakes Marriott/Ritz Carlton resort. There plan was to stay no more than a year and a half.
â┚¬Å”We thought Orlando was going to be 18 months out of our life and that's it,â┚¬Â says Olivieri.
But the couple moved downtown and fell in love with the city. And in time Nickell, saw the opportunity in Orlando to realize a lifelong goalâ┚¬â€Âowning a restaurant. He's been playing with the eclectic Funky Monkey concept for years, and he started scouting locations. Naysayers tried to steer him away from the Mills 50 area, but Nickell kept circling back to Irma's Café Europaâ┚¬â€Âa smallish space with an unimpressive exterior.
â┚¬Å”Before he showed me the property he said, â┚¬ËœKeep an open mind, I see potential',â┚¬Â says Olivieri.
Nickell's instincts proved flawless. Funky Monkey opened in 2007 and quickly established a reputation as a relaxed-but-sophisticated dining destination. Business has grown, and the restaurant celebrated its busiest month ever this past June. The couple is so invested in the area that they recently bought a home in nearby Lake Highland Heights.
Some executives from Pointe Orlando were among the regulars at Funky Monkey, and they asked the couple to consider expanding the concept at an upscale location on the International Drive tourist strip. Like its predecessor, the much larger restaurant took off like a shot. With two successful restaurants in operation, Olivieri finally felt comfortable leaving his full time corporate position at Grande Lakes.
â┚¬Å”I told him, â┚¬ËœIt's okâ┚¬Â¦ we did $3 million in sales this year. You can let go now,â┚¬Â Nickell remembers. â┚¬Å”I said, â┚¬ËœWe have 100 employees, we have 10 managersâ┚¬Â¦ there's life outside Marriott.â┚¬ÂÂ
With two Funky Monkey's in operation, Nickell and Olivieri returned to Mills 50, but this time with a new concept. Opened just over a year ago, Bananas is a diner that serves comfort food to a colorful crowd, well into the early morning. Reservations are recommended for the popular Sunday Drag Brunch. The restaurant surpassed the couple's expectations by serving over 120,000 customers in its first year.
And just last month the couple opened the Prickly Pear, a fine dining establishment in the upscale condo corridor south of Lake Eola. All told, their FMI Restaurant Group now employs more than 200 people.
The couple agrees that there's a huge difference between working for a huge corporation like Marriott and owning their own restaurants.
â┚¬Å”We don't consider it work,â┚¬Â says Nickell.
â┚¬Å”When it's something you're passionate aboutâ┚¬â€Âsomething you love doing so muchâ┚¬â€ it's not work,â┚¬Â Olivieri agrees.
The owners pride themselves on being invested in their community. Nickell and Olivieri serve on the boards for the burgeoning Mills 50 Business District and the local Tasters Guild wine and food enthusiast association.
Nickell is also the first openly gay president of the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association's Central Florida Chapter. One of the most influential trade associations in the state, FRLA oversees Florida's $57 billion hospitality industry. Member lodging establishments, restaurants and suppliers make up 20% of the Sunshine State's overall economy. And with nearly 1,000 allied members, Central Florida is home to FRLA's largest chapter.
Nickell and Olivieri are involved in the local LGBT community as well. FMI corporate offices are located in a building owned by The Center, providing the respected organization with a steady and meaningful monthly rent check. FMI also hosts fundraising events during Gay Days and Come Out With Pride.
â┚¬Å”We are a bit controversial, but I think that contributes to our success,â┚¬Â says Nickell. â┚¬Å”We're gay owned, we have something like ten transsexuals on staff… we cover their health insurance.â┚¬ÂÂ
The couple is grateful for their gay patrons, but they point out that a restaurant must have broad appeal to succeed. Their newest offeringsâ┚¬â€ÂNick's Italian Kitchen and Prickly Pearâ┚¬â€Âare both in the upscale condo corridor south of Lake Eola and have been open less than a month.
Do FMI's five restaurants cannibalizing customers from each other?
â┚¬Å”They're each a different concept,â┚¬Â Nickell answers confidently.
â┚¬Å”Business begets business,â┚¬Â adds Olivieri, noting that the proximity of FMI's two restaurants in Mills 50 creates traffic for both.
And for the many businesses that have recently opened nearby. An art gallery just opened, and a new restaurant from Pom Pom's Sandwhicheria has been announced.
The couple says they're not done yet, either. Nickell foresees expanding the Bananas Diner concept to other locations and cities.
That's Entertainment
Steve Donahue, president and general manager of Tampa's Florida Entertainment Group, agrees that business begets business. With three successful bars in the GaYbor District, FEG has mastered the fine art of foot traffic.
â┚¬Å”All three of our bars have a different vibe to them, they each have a different feel,â┚¬Â says Donahue.
The club impresario describes Honey Pot as a world class nightclub with big name entertainment. G Bar is a neighborhood bar with an intimate feel, and Social Club is the anti-establishment, anti-big nightclub bar alternative.
â┚¬Å”You won't walk in and have the same experience at any of those clubs,â┚¬Â Donahue says.
With more than 100 people on its payroll and special events that draw thousands, FEG ads millions to the local economy. Donahue was a presence in Tampa Bay nightlife long before Ybor became a center of LGBT nightlife. He says there's a method to keeping businesses afloat in this economy.
â┚¬Å”We're constantly looking at ways to keep the cost low,â┚¬Â he says. â┚¬Å”We've never raised the prices at G. Barâ┚¬â€Ânot onceâ┚¬â€Âin the five years we've been open.â┚¬ÂÂ
He notes that even in lean times clubs can offer drink specials and no cover charge. The large crowds include enough high-end consumers to fund the night for everyoneâ┚¬â€Âthe gay nightclub version of United Way.
The gay-straight pendulum has swung both ways in Ybor City. More than a decade ago it was home to some of Tampa Bay's biggest LGBT nightclubs. Their success drew straight clubs to the area, which changed the atmosphere on 7th Avenue and surrounding blocks. Donahue is proud that, with FEG's success, gay and straight businesses alike are drawing record numbers to the historic neighborhood.
Local government has taken notice. Mayor Bob Buckhorn recently recognized the contribution of LGBT-owned businesses in improving Ybor City by signing a proclamation for GaYbor Days. Donahue's business partner, Stephen Moss, was appointed to the city's Economic Development Board.
With three destination bars within blocks of each other in Ybor City, Donahue says expansion for FEG is most likely to take place in other cities such as Atlanta. But he notes that Ybor could use a gay sports bar.
Is there room for yet another LGBT vibeâ┚¬â€Âand nightlife destinationâ┚¬â€Âin GaYbor? It's all about the foot traffic.
Ranger's Sniffs Opportunity
Just off Highway 17-92 in Winter Park, a huge industrial park spreads out over several blocks. But the entrance to the first nondescript buildingâ┚¬â€Âa huge façade built to look like a rustic log cabinâ┚¬â€Âannounces that what's inside will be unexpected. Floor-to-ceiling windows reveal an unexpected tableau more suited to a zoo: hundreds of dogs of all shapes and sizes frolicking about in a huge indoor dog park.
Ranger's Pet Outpost and Retreat is the brainchild of life and business partners Mike Fried and Rick Merrifield. Back in 2001, they bought a doggie day care, grooming and boarding business nestled next to a Cumberland Farms convenience store. Now ten years later, they just expanded their business to a groundbreaking 17,000-square-foot facility unlike anything in the state.
Ranger's offers pet grooming, doggie day care, overnight lodging, dog training and a mobile pet-sitting service. For the first time this year, Fried and Merrifield expect gross revenues to exceed $1 million. More than 30 employees are encouraged to anticipate the needs of 4,000 active clients and at least 6,000 dogs.
It shows. The expansive lobby doubles as a retail area for pet gifts and supplies. It's also where Ranger's employees watch as people pull into the parking lot so they can get their dog ready for pick up.
â┚¬Å”Sophie is on the way out,â┚¬Â a staff member tells a smiling customer as she walks in the door. Seconds later a blonde Labrador retriever appears, panting and smiling and wagging her tail.
â┚¬Å”I couldn't live without them,â┚¬Â says realtor Denise Leheup. â┚¬Å”I can travel and go on vacations and I don't worry about my dogs at all. They make it so easy.â┚¬ÂÂ
â┚¬Å”I give our clients the credit for our success,â┚¬Â says Merrifeild.
After receiving a BA in environmental biology from Loch Haven University in Pennsylvania, Merrifield went to work as a dolphin and sea lion trainer at Marineland in St. Augustine. He went on to a job as animal behavior supervisor at the Jacksonville Zoo before signing on as head curator at the St. Maarten Zoo. He's also worked with a veritable menagerie of animalsâ┚¬â€Âporcupines, skunks, snakes, orangutans, chimps, horsesâ┚¬â€Âat Universal Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom.
He was helping out at the small dog-sitting business when the owner decided he wanted out after 9/11.
â┚¬Å”He gave Mike and I a great opportunity to buy the shop,â┚¬Â Merrifield says.
Fried also had a background with animals, helping out with his grandfather's veterinary business throughout his childhood in Oklahoma.
â┚¬Å”The work never ends,â┚¬Â Fried laughs. â┚¬Å”I swore I'd never do it.â┚¬ÂÂ
On their first date, Fried had an allergic reaction to Merrifield's cats and had to run home to get his inhaler. But their skills meshed, and the opportunity to build a business together appealed to him.
â┚¬Å”I knew what it took,â┚¬Â Fried says. â┚¬Å”I knew it would be a farmer's life.â┚¬ÂÂ
In fact while they build out their new space, both Fried and Merrifield have been working 60 to 90-hour weeks. They also pour most revenues back into the business.
â┚¬Å”We'd both rather invest in ourselves than the stock market or anything else,â┚¬Â says Merrifield. â┚¬Å”You know what you're getting.â┚¬ÂÂ
They spent a year-and-a half scouting for their new location, and capitalized on the downturn in the economy by holding out for reduced rent. But in return they signed a ten-year lease, and they have ambitious plans for the site.
The 3,200 sq. ft. indoor dog park features synthetic â┚¬Å”canine grassâ┚¬Â that has been raised to accommodate an innovative indoor flushing system. Future projects include solar panels and a methane generator fueled by, what else, dog poop.
Fried and Merrifield agree that the key ingredients to success in this economy are a clear vision, a ruthlessly honest business plan, and a willingness to do whatever it takes to make the business succeed.
â┚¬Å”We knew before we opened this facility that we'd both be here every day for the first year,â┚¬Â says Merrifield. â┚¬Å”But it's good. It's a labor of loveâ┚¬Â¦ and its ours.â┚¬ÂÂ
