Trump store in Huntley shuts down after eviction

The Trump and Truth Store in Huntley opened for its last day of business Sunday, but the owner aims to expand in the future with a new and bigger shop by this fall.

Just before the store’s eviction trial was set to begin last month, store owner Lisa Fleischmann, her landlord and their lawyers agreed to a settlement. Both Fleischmann and her landlord has been issued citations for what the village said were Fleischmann’s violations of local sign ordinances. That prompted her landlord to begin eviction proceedings.

Among the terms of the settlement are that Fleischmann vacates the premises by 6 p.m. July 17 and that she pays the landlord’s attorney fees and court costs, which she has done, court records show.

Fleischmann previously said she didn’t want her president-themed gift shop to stay at her current location and has been looking for a new place. She said she hopes to snag a space somewhere along Randall Road in Algonquin, so that it is still close to her home while be accessible from Interstate 90.

The Huntley shop was still packed with banners, customizable t-shirts, glassware and other memorabilia on the last day of business Sunday. Fleischmann hopes her new location will be “about five times” bigger.

But her plans don’t end there. She said she wants to create something “more than a store” with Trump bingo events, a kids craft center and space for live music.

“People are really excited about it,” she said. “I want to create a place where people can talk.”

Fleischmann said she aims to have an online shop running by end of August and a new store opened by October. She previously that she didn’t want her landlord to be a villain and said he was a good guy and had been bullied. She said the store wasn’t about being a moneymaker.

While Fleischmann and some of her supporters believe the store was targeted because of its political content, both Huntley officials and Joe Gottemoller, the lawyer for the landlord, have said it wasn’t political and simply a question of Fleischmann not following local laws.

Gottemoller said the landlord owns the building and just wants to find a new tenant who will have to understand they need sign permits.

In June, an arrest warrant was briefly issued against Fleischmann when she missed a court appearance on a misdemeanor charge of driving with a suspended license. The warrant was quashed when she attended court the following week, but the case is still pending.