Three Island Monkeys celebrates Longboat opening with ribbon-cutting

Three Island Monkeys owner Brigette Kubin was emotional when speaking about resilience and how her business was resurrected through the support of others. 

Kubin celebrated the opening of her business, Three Island Monkeys, on Longboat Key on Jan. 8 among friends, family and representatives from the town, including the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce. 

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In the crowd was Mayor Ken Schneier, who Kubin thanked for how the town leaders keep the town genuine and with a multi-generational feel. 

“I hope that our little boutique adds some color to everyone’s life here,” Kubin said.

Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Kim Verreault said the ceremony was one of their largest attended ribbon-cutting ceremonies, with about 50 people. 

Guests enjoyed a spread of food, wine and prosecco, and admired the elegant floral arrangements, Verreault said. Some of the food was provided by Lazy Lobster, which Kubin used to work for. 

“It’s going to be an incredible addition to our community,” Verreault said about the business. “It’s very, very unique.”

Kubin opened Three Island Monkeys at 5620 Gulf of Mexico Drive, in a section of the building co-owned by her friend, Courtney Rossler. Rossler recently opened Lo’ Key Island Grille on the same lot. 

Three Island Monkeys officially opened its doors on Nov. 29 after some setbacks caused by the 2024 hurricane season. 

Before that, the business was located on Anna Maria Island and was started by local artist Kandi Kerekes in 2009. 

Kubin vacationed on Anna Maria Island for 30 years and always visited Three Island Monkeys when she was in town. In 2015, while on vacation, Kubin found out that Kerekes was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and wanted to pass the business down to someone with the same mission to spotlight unique finds from local artists. 

Kubin then bought the store in 2015 and learned from Kerekes how she operated the business during the last months of Kerekes' life. 

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Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, and Kubin had to move Three Island Monkeys to another location. She later had to pause the business entirely to take care of her parents during the pandemic.

A short period of selling products online followed, but Kubin looked forward to reopening a physical business for Three Island Monkeys. 

Kubin worked at the Lazy Lobster where she met Rossler, who eventually left the Lazy Lobster for her own business venture, Lo’ Key Island Grille. Rossler offered Kubin a section of the lot to reopen Three Island Monkeys, this time on Longboat Key. 

With the opening of the Longboat Key boutique, Kubin decided to lean more into the unique gifts aspect of the business, focusing on art and specialty items that pull from her local art connections.