Support Our Journey to Reopen Our Store & Regain Stability

Hello! My name is Alyssa Herlocher and my partner and I desperately need help getting back on our feet. We own a vintage clothing store in Chicago. In November of 2024, our store closed not by choice, leaving every bit of my savings in the build-out of the storefront. The landlord refused to honor my 3-year lease extension because I sent my letter of intent to renew one month late. This means I sent my letter of intent to renew my lease 5 months in advance instead of 6 months. Usually, this would be okay if the landlords were reasonable people, but as it was my mistake and technically voided my lease, they did not have to honor it, and I was left with zero legal recourse. I put close to $50,000 of work into rebuilding that storefront.

I have come to a place where I no longer have the capacity to be angry about it and just have to accept the loss as a learning experience and move on. We have been desperately looking for a new storefront to pop up in or to stay in long term. We have participated in a few pop-up vintage events since closing and are selling online, but it honestly has not been very fruitful. All of my savings was in the build-out of the old store, which now serves to only benefit the old landlords. We have a new space available to us but need to put down a security deposit, etc. We have had very minimal to no income since closing the store with no savings. Online sales have been slow due to the time of year and political climate. We feel like we can finally see the way out of our financial hole but need some help getting there. We have had to carry the expenses of a business while being closed and having close to zero income from the business. I cannot obtain any loans because my credit has suffered as a result of this. We are on the verge of losing both our car and our housing. I lost my health insurance, have had my phone and utilities disconnected several times. We just spent the last of our funds securing a business license so that we can continue to have an income and livelihood, but the space that was offered short term fell through, so now that's also a wash. I hate asking for help. I am a Capricorn who does not stop moving, working, strategizing, but I'm having a very hard time seeing my way out of this one. Appreciate you and thank you for reading my saga.