Key Biscayne may be a small island, but it offers an impressive variety of shops, services, and home-grown brands that give our community its character. From longtime family-run stores to new artisanal makers and home-based businesses, the Island is filled with entrepreneurs who invest not only in their craft, but in this community.
At a time when online shopping can deliver almost anything with a click, it’s worth remembering what those services can’t provide: personal attention, local knowledge, and the understanding that you’re more than just another customer. Step into The Golden Hog and employees greet you by name. Dine at La Scala and, even on your first visit, you leave feeling like an old friend of owner Chandra DeSilva. That level of connection is something national chains and e-commerce giants simply can’t replicate.
Supporting Island businesses also strengthens our local economy. Our Island’s brick-and-mortar shops face some of the highest rents in the County, yet they remain committed to serving residents because they believe in this community. Every purchase helps keep doors open, creates jobs, and enables merchants to support the many nonprofit organizations on the Island that work tirelessly to make this community better.
And the options truly are here. Between boutiques, beauty shops, cafés, specialty food stores, home-decor retailers, wellness studios, markets, and more than 50 dining venues, and dozens of home-based businesses, residents can find nearly everything they need without leaving the Island. Even if something costs a couple of dollars more, the return on that investment comes back in the form of service, convenience, and the continued presence of businesses that enrich Island Life.
Shopping local isn’t just a nicety or a slogan. It’s how we keep our Island’s businesses alive.
This season, make a deliberate choice to support the merchants who support our community every day. Spend where it matters: right here on the Key.