Trump-Themed Pop-Up Store Opens In Wilmington

WILMINGTON, MA — Traditionally, if you want a shirt with a politician's name on it, you buy it from the campaign or from stands at places such as the National Mall.

Certainly, you wouldn't find an entire brick-and-mortar retail store devoted to that merchandise in a Boston suburb. Or in four different Boston suburbs, as the case may be.

But that's exactly what the "New England for Trump" chain of stores provides. It opened its fourth location, at 424 Main St. in Wilmington, this weekend.

The stores have short-term leases and began in principle as a holiday stores, according to the owner Keith Lambert. But if they do well, they may remain open through the general election, and he may open more in the new year, he said. The other three stores are in Bellingham, Easton and Hanson.

They aren't affiliated with the campaign: Lambert's an independent businessman, who has some of his own designs printed locally and buys other merchandise from wholesalers. But he is a supporter of the president, and he donates to the campaign monthly, he said.

"It's my personal business, and I want to make sure I support what helps me," Lambert said. "Personally, I've always been a Trump lover, even before he's been involved in politics."

Lambert is in the "hot market" business. For 20 years, he said, he has sold merchandise following events such as Super Bowl and World Series victories. He also has a novelty items store and a fireworks business.

He first started selling Trump items at the August rally in New Hampshire, and he found it was so successful that he opened tent stores around the region, including in Easton, where he lives. He also sold Trump merchandise at events such as fairs and car shows where he usually sells sports gear.

"It started to get cold. We could just open some holiday stores, so I put all my energy into trying to do that," Lambert said. "The first holiday store we opened up was in Bellingham."

Wilmington wasn't his top choice for a store north of Boston, Lambert said, but he was able to find a place where he could get a short-term lease. He looked for towns with substantial numbers of Trump voters.

"Billerica was one of the best towns for Trump supporters, but I just couldn't find a space," he said. "As you can imagine with what we're selling, the owner needs to be aligned with what we're doing."

Tewksbury was another option he looked into, he said.

The stores have provoked their share of controversy. A Wilmington Apple Facebook post about the new Wilmington store has gathered over 1,300 comments. Lambert said that people occasionally will say something in person; and once in Rhode Island, his vehicle was egged when he was selling Trump gear.

"In general, there's been way more positivity than negativity," he said.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.