May 11—Judy Flynn had enough of Wall Street, leaving the world of finance in 2014 to boldly go on a new venture, The Fresh Monkee, a shake shop focused on proper nutrition in each serving.

Flynn opened her first shop in a small 650-square foot space in Wethersfield, she said, before expanding to a second location in Glastonbury in 2015.

The Glastonbury location relocated in 2019 to its current spot at 2945 Main St.

The FRESH MONKEE

ADDRESS: Five locations in Connecticut, including 2945 Main St. in Glastonbury and 1540-D Pleasant Valley Road in Manchester.

HOURS: Vary by location. Check the website for exact times.

MENU: Various protein shakes and smoothies with fresh blended ingredients.

MISC.: Dairy and non-dairy available.

CONTACT: thefreshmonkee.com.

There are now five Fresh Monkees, with three more shops that opened in 2018: One in Berlin, one in Southington, and one in Manchester at 1540-D Pleasant Valley Road.

"I was in finance and was quickly getting disillusioned with what was happening on Wall Street at the time," Flynn said, reflecting on her pre-smoothie career.

A single mom, she said her life was changing and meandering and needed something different.

Another motivation for her had to do with her addressing her eating disorders.

"I used to marathon and lift and knew I couldn't recover without proper nutrition," she said. "What helped me recover from my eating disorder was that you had to eat and you had to eat nutritiously sound things. That was important to me."

She said she ran through the gamut of eating disorders, mostly brought on by bullying in school.

"I was adopted as a baby to an Irish family," she said. "I didn't look like anyone else and that created some challenges as a kid. When you're told in school by bullies that you're ugly and you're different in the most developmental time of your life it affects your path. I started out bulimic, purging multiple times a day. That evolved to anorexia, 200 calories a day, running, running, running. That led to compulsive bingeing. I would sleep, walk, and eat. I went from being under 95 pounds to gaining 60 pounds in six months."

She said her eating disorders led to being hospitalized twice for three to four months at a time.

"During my stays, there was an 8-year-old girl with anorexia that didn't survive," she said. "There was also a 65-year-old grandmother who admitted herself because her daughter stopped letting her babysit her grandchildren."

"I looked at these people and said I can't keep doing this," she said.

As an athlete growing up, and in overcoming her eating disorders, Flynn said she learned more about nutrition and the importance of what you put in your body.

But, she said, she could never find a protein shake that had real ingredients in them.

"They had pumps of syrup, or things were sweetened and they didn't have protein as a base, just an add-on, which made the shake not taste really good," she said.

Flynn set out and opened her first shop to create her own protein shakes. "I found the space in Wethersfield and it was inexpensive," she said. "Everything I needed was there. I bought a used fridge, freezer, and built Ikea furniture."

Coming up with the name The Fresh Monkee had nothing to do with 1960s pop/rock band The Monkees.

"I used to buy my son stuffed monkeys," she said. "I needed to come up with a cute name. Monkeys are cute. Everyone likes monkeys. I started Googling The Fresh Monkey and it was an online boutique. A friend said to just change the spelling. We looked up two 'ee's and it was available."

After nearly 10 years of business, opening five shops in as many years, Flynn said she didn't think The Fresh Monkee was going to be anything more than the one shop in Wethersfield.

Her finance acumen gave her the know-how to invest in herself.

"Being from finance I have always been skilled at looking at lines of credit and how that will work when building businesses and am I making enough to survive until the traffic gets going enough to create the next one," she said.

"You don't have to be sitting on this pile of cash," she said. "You can, but smart debt is about using it toward creating a new revenue stream. I can carry debt as long as I'm making enough to make the monthly payments and loans."

As for the product, she said she makes protein shakes that leave the fiber in.

"We don't juice our fruits and vegetables because it removes all the important fiber and helps to keep you full," she said.

The most popular shake at The Fresh Monkee, she said, is the Chunky Monkee.

"It's so simple," Flynn said. "It's bananas, protein, and natural peanut butter blended into a nice creamy shake that gives you a light peanut butter cup flavor."

One of her personal favorites, she said, is the Peanut Butter Jelly Time.

"It has protein, natural peanut butter, and mixed berries so you get that healthy light flavor that hints to what they're called," she said.

Other popular shakes include The Maui Colada, with protein, mango, pineapple, unsweetened coconut and coconut milk; and the Ultimate Green, with spinach, chia seed, flaxseed, banana, a choice of lemon or orange, ginger, and pineapple, she said.

"It's very green," she said of the Ultimate Green. "You can add spinach to almost anything and not taste it. You can have a ton of add-ons.

"We have dairy and non-dairy options," she said. "We can custom any shake or you can build your own."

Shakes aren't all The Fresh Monkee offers, Flynn said.

"We are rolling out our Monkee Ballz," she said. "Those are our protein balls. We make them on-site in small batches. That's natural peanut butter, oat flour, maple syrup, protein, and sea salt dipped in light chocolate with a little bit of coconut oil for the shell. We're piloting them here and they're going off the shelves."

She said they also offer grab- and-go protein bars, cookies, chips, and energy drinks.

Flynn's ambitions haven't stopped with just the five shops as she is in the process of franchising The Fresh Monkee.

"Anyone who wants to open a Fresh Monkee, they get a Monkee in a box and we bring them in, train them, and help guide them in finding locations and help the build out," she said. "You can open one in Florida, Texas, or Arizona or anywhere. We're starting to roll out over the next month or so.

"It's been an adventure, she said. "The next phase of franchising is going to be something I've never experienced before and I'm looking forward to it."

For coverage of local restaurants, cultural events, music, and an extensive range of Connecticut theater reviews, follow Tim Leininger on Twitter: @Tim_E_Leininger, Facebook: Tim Leininger's Journal Inquirer News page, and Instagram: @One_Mans_Opinion77.