The Funky Monkey Wine Company on Mills Avenue in the Mills 50 district will close Sunday. It opened eight years ago and became the initial business for what partners Eddie Nickell and Nicholas Olivieri would call FMI Restaurant Group. The Funky Monkey restaurant at Pointe Orlando, now called Funky Monkey Bistro & Bar, will continue to operate.
That will be the only remaining restaurant for the group, which at various times also operated Prickly Pear and Nick’s Italian Kitchen in Thornton Park, Banana’s Diner, also in Mills 50, and two other brands that took over the Banana’s space in a short period, including Mills Brewpub and Divas Dinner Theater.
In a message, Nickell said that he and Olivieri will retain ownership of the Mills 50 building and will turn it over to new tenants.
Funky Monkey will have a final event on Sunday from 6 to 10 p.m.