07/02/2025
Coconuts… 42 years… how many folks helped us make 42 years? Way too many to name! 42 years…how many ups and downs can businesses have in 42 years? Way too many to remember. Some would say Coconuts, aka “the NUT” is Iconic and we guess that’s a fair way to look at Coconuts. For all of you that don’t know us, here’s a little background. We grew up here, fell in love here, and eloped to Chicago, Ill. There wasn’t much here back then for us to do. We worked very, very hard to save some money to buy some land when very few wanted to live here… no amenities and lots of mosquitoes but the land was affordable. Back then, in the late 60’s, canal lots were under $4,000…10% down and 10% per month. We never wanted to be any place else! We also had the downpayment, so we became landowners and headed back to the Keys as soon as we could. In those early years, we were working musicians with no kids… but we also had a dream for a business and a home and “roots”. With much help, we started to work on the plan to own our own business… Coconuts Bar & Liquor Store. The Liquor License, came from the Oasis Bar in Marathon, with the help of the owner, Joe Rabito, a longtime friend. Meri-Lynn’s folks, Ron and Betty Rondeau, along with our local bankers, who helped us arrange payments we could work with, and local contractors and architects, we were able to pull it off. To say we were overextended is an understatement. Our first hurdle was to order stock and be able to pay for it within two weeks! We continued to play music for the first year or so up and down the Keys. Meri-Lynn was pregnant, so this time in our lives was, to say the least, challenging.
When we finally had our grand opening at the end of February, 1983, our Piners turned out. Business was good and remained good. It became the Hub of the construction trade which was booming here at that time. Contractors would stop by the NUT to hire day workers … and many times, would call in to schedule work with each other. They used the bartenders to relay messages so often that they would received candy on “Secretary’s Day”. The Nut was much smaller than it is now, much smaller. So eventually, we went back to the bank, rearranged our Loan and build a roofed in deck, office and kitchen. That went well and a few years passed, and then we went back to the bank to extend the roof and deck area again. We needed a stage and pool tables to give our folks some entertainment. We had been playing at Coconuts occasionally all along but now we could pull in other bands. During this time we had two children, continued to play music , and Joe also worked the bar while Meri-Lynn did the office work/book keeping. There is so much that took place along this journey it would be difficult to do a good job sharing it. Remember the Keys were a very different place back then. Much of the wild- west atmosphere has been put to rest. The Keys have grown way past anything we could have ever imagined. Over these many years, we two and our excellent staff have raised many thousand’s of dollars for people in need. None of that would have been possible without this great island community and the wonderful people that settled here. Today we are serving the grandchildren of people we first opened our doors to. We love our Island Home and still can’t think of anywhere else we would rather be! We wish to thank our “Piners” for always showing up and helping us to continue to live the dream. From the bottom of our hearts, Thank you all and may God Bless us all … Joe, Meri-Lynn and the Coconuts Family…
