Stanley Switlik’s former music teacher is trading tunes for trends.
Though she successfully tested the waters throughout the Keys’ peak tourist season in early 2026, Allison Sayer’s Golden Road opened with an official ribbon-cutting on April 22 together with the Greater Marathon Chamber of Commerce.
The upscale women’s clothing and accessories shop might seem like an abrupt switch for a local who made her mark in Marathon as a fish wholesaler before joining the elementary school to teach music for the last five years.
But as her store’s name suggests, Sayer says the new venture is a return to her original passion after a decades-long detour.
After spending time in college studying retail and fashion, Sayer said, she worked for vendors in New York City before winding up in Miami with a men’s wholesale company. When she met her husband Sean, a move to the Keys meant a pivot from her original career track – at least, until her current location at 8903 Overseas Highway opened up.
“I’ve always wanted to do this; I just kind of took a 15-plus-year hiatus,” she laughed.
“This unit came available, and we would only have executed this business plan in this building,” added Sean.
Golden Road’s offerings range from single-digit prices for hair clips and accessories to upscale $400 dresses for special occasions. Rotating through different styles and pieces as fast as they sell – “if you see something you like, get it, because the next time you come back it won’t be here,” Allison said – she stocks her fixtures with favorite brands like Nation, Emerson Fry, Hale Bob and Z Supply.
Sayer’s stock is designed with all price ranges in mind. Want to dress to impress for an awards ceremony? She has it. Want a more affordable dress for under $100? She keeps a full rack of those, too. Sizes typically range from small to large – she doesn’t carry petites or extra larges for most pieces in-store, but has access to larger sizes through distributors if customers fall in love with a particular style or print.
“People want to go shopping,” she said, “and I wanted to provide them with an elevated shopping experience but still have affordable and fashionable clothing. She said she’s relished the chance to educate buyers on the quality and reasoning behind their garments’ construction and pricing. “It’s everything from loungewear to something to wear on the boat over a swimsuit to a cute little sundress.”
Extra offerings like jewelry, candles, hats and handbags – many handcrafted in the Keys – fill the shelves to provide options from head to toe. Art pieces from Key West-based oil painter Katlin Spain line the walls for decoration or purchase.
She described her “perfect scenario” over spring break, where a 75-year-old grandmother, 40-year-old mother and teenage daughter all came in to shop together. When they left the store, all three had bags in their hands. And in a small town, she’s got the locals covered, even going so far as calling former customers to ensure no two ladies would show up at the same event wearing the same dress.
The store’s name? A combination of unforgettable sunsets along the Overseas Highway with the winding path that’s led to Sayer opening her doors.
“(The sunset) is kind of where we got the logo idea – it’s like a golden road driving down here,” she said. “But I feel like my life has been this crazy path, and I’m thankful for all the different parts of it. I started in fashion, then I went to fish, then I got to teach my kids music. So it’s a golden road I’ve been on. It’s cheesy, but it’s really kind of true.”
Golden Road is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. For more information, visit goldenroadflkeys.com or follow Golden Road on Facebook or @goldenroadflkeys on Instagram.
Photos by Alex Rickert and Jason Koler
