WICKER PARK — City Soles workers and shoppers left the famed "High Fidelity" storefront in Wicker Park on Monday when Cook County sheriff's police evicted the group, the first tenants in decades at the previously boarded up spot.
The incident happened around 1 p.m. Monday, when two Cook County sheriff's police, their cars parked in the CTA Milwaukee No. 56 bus lane — one with its engine running — visited the store with eviction papers.
With a "lost our lease" sign in the window, City Soles announced last month that it would be closing. The shoe shop relocated to the store at 1514 N. Milwaukee Ave. just 10 months ago, after leaving a spot at 2001 N. Damen Ave., that they'd operated out of for nearly 20 years.
Located one block south of the Milwaukee, Damen and North avenues intersection, the 3,009-square-foot corner space at 1514 N. Milwaukee Ave. extends down Honore Street. It served as the exterior for "Championship Vinyl," a record store owned by John Cusack's character, Rob Gordon, in the 2000 film "High Fidelity."
Gordon chased out a pair of shoplifting teens from the shop in the 2000 movie.
On Monday, hours after he was locked out of the store, City Soles owner Scott Starbuck said he had filed paperwork to extend his stay for 30 more days until the end of February.
"My lawyer is talking with theirs. I am hoping to find a way to be open again for a few weeks and to get back in to get fixtures, inventory and to vacate. We are definitely leaving," Starbuck said.
Brennan Hitpas, vice president of Newcastle Limited, which owns the property under a Newcastle Limited-venture called House Rock LLC, declined to comment on the eviction. The storefront, billed as a "rare corner retail property in the heart of Wicker Park" is available for rent, a listing shows.
According to an Cook County court records, House Rock LLC began legal proceedings in August against City Soles with a complaint seeking just over $14,000.
The firm filed for an order of possession on Oct. 15. Starbuck said the request to evict in October came during the same month he'd tried to renegotiate his 10-year lease.
Last spring, Starbuck said he'd signed a 10-year lease with House Rock LLC at the same time he was in midst of bringing in an investor and capital to grow City Soles' online sales.
"We had a large commitment from an investor early in the spring; come October we had to rethink our plan. We offered to them [House Rock LLC] to take less. And then they said, 'We want you out, you can't pay full rent, we want somebody who can.' "
A bright sticker on the door says "No Trespassing" and warns that anyone without permission to enter could be faced with a fine up to $500 for trespassing and/or 30 days in jail. Late Monday, the windows were papered over with a large lock on the door.
"It was shocking," Starbuck said of the eviction. "We have been in a battle just like Double Door. There is no secret; we can't afford to pay the $15,000 in rent, we thought we'd be able to move and make it happen, but just like with Bom Bolla and all the other empty storefronts, the rents are too crazy," Starbuck said.
Starbuck said he offered to pay his landlord about 30 percent less than the lease says but they did not accept it or an offer he claims he made in November "to pay 100 percent of the back rent."
Currently, Starbuck said that the shop is looking to reopen and relocate in Logan Square or West Town's Chicago Avenue, where he says "it is young and hip and cool and the rents are one-fourth less or half of what Wicker Park is."
In the meanwhile, Starbuck is encouraging shoppers to visit City Soles' website to shop online.
House Rock LLC bought the storefront on the first floor of 1514 N. Milwaukee Ave. for $1.4 million on Feb. 7, 2014, according to county records. Prior to the sale, the storefront had been boarded up for many years.
The long boarded up storefront at 1514 N. Milwaukee Ave. in spring 2014. [DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser]
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