Funky Monkey chef will open upscale eatery in Mills 50
Chef Eddie Nickell has closed his flagship Funky Monkey Bistro and Bar on International Drive and plans to open a small upscale restaurant and bar in Mills 50 District.
Bites and Bubbles will feature champagne and wine, along with a full menu of items, including steak, duck confit and caviar. It is taking the 1,100-square foot restaurant space at 912 N. Mills Ave. that housed the original version of Funky Monkey Wine Bar until 2015.
He and business partner Nick Olivieri plan to remodel the entire restaurant, he said.
The Mills Avenue location has recently housed Brooklyn Coffee Shop. It was also previously home to Restaurant Ash, an eatery run by his daughter Ashley Nickell, who was a contestant on realityTV show “Hell’s Kitchen” in 2016.
Eddie Nickell has owned the spot since 2008.
Brooklyn Coffee closed recently after one of the partners in the project pulled out, he said.
“Instead of finding someone new, I thought I would just take over,” he said. “I think Mills is ready for something a little more upscale.”
Eddie Nickell will curate the menu at the new location, which also will feature cheeses, oysters, filets and other upscale items. The sample menu has entrees from $10 for a burger to $27 for a porterhouse steak.
The future of Funky Monkey at Pointe Orlando on I-Drive has been up in the air since a 2014 bankruptcy filing, when Eddie Nickell and Olivieri also filed suit against Pointe Orlando, saying construction at the center hurt business. The two sides settled that case, but Pointe Orlando sued Funky Monkey in January for being $60,800 behind on rent. That case is still pending.
With the lease approaching its end, Eddie Nickell said it was time to close Funky Monkey’s International Drive location.
He said it’s possible that Funky Monkey could come back, but not right now.
“The lease is up at Funky Monkey, and I won’t be renewing,” he said. “For now, I’m going to concentrate on opening this new place.”
A spokeswoman for Pointe Orlando said Funky Monkey was planning to leave and that the center was close to signing a new tenant, but would not elaborate on the relationship between the restaurant and the landlord.