GULF SHORES — A new local restaurant has closed its doors after a disagreement with the landlord over municipal campaign signs placed on the property.

At the July 28 Gulf Shores City Council meeting, L.A. Pizzeria owner Demetrios Lambidonis requested an amendment to the city's sign ordinance regarding political signage and the rights of rental business owners.

He said he and his wife were working when their landlord, David Swiger, who is married to and runs Swiger and Company Realtors with mayoral candidate Angie Swiger, visited the restaurant and said he was going to put up some of his wife's campaign signs.

Lambidonis said he tries to stay neutral in his business and avoids getting into politics, so he added signs for the other two mayoral candidates alongside Swiger's.

Shortly after, he said, the other candidate signs were "removed without notice and thrown out back."

To remain neutral, Lambidonis removed the Swiger signs, too.

"My landlord came in very angry," he said. "He was swearing, he was loud, and he made it very clear to me that either we keep her signs on our property or we can get out."

He said his family decided to close their business by Aug. 1. They opened at 520 W. Beach Blvd. in April.

"This isn't about politics for me," he said. "It's about what kind of city we want and whether we have the courage to protect the people and the businesses of Gulf Shores."

A public hearing on amending the sign regulation ordinance for Gulf Shores was held at the Aug. 11 council meeting, which was after press time.

Angie Swiger attended the July 28 meeting and spoke before council on the subject immediately after Lambidonis during the public comment period. She said only half of the story was being told to them.

Before Swiger started, Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Philip Harris, who was filling in for Mayor Robert Craft, said he would allow her to speak on the issue but that he did not think the council meeting was the place to discuss the matter further.

"[This is] really not the venue for a court battle, and that's where this is headed," Harris said.

Swiger began by confirming there is a section in their lease stating signs cannot be placed on the property without prior approval. She confirmed her husband took down the other candidate signs as Lambidonis had not requested permission.

The Swiger signs were on the property for over a month, she said, without "anyone having any problem with it."

She said she and her husband visited the business owners the morning after the July 24 interaction. She and her husband apologized and took her signs down, she said.

"When people are not happy with their business or they're not happy in their space, then we never try to hold someone to a lease that's not happy," Swiger said. "So, he [David Swiger] did say, 'You have a choice.' They took the choice; we did not kick them out."

After the council meeting, Gulf Shores Police Chief Dan Netemeyer told GCM Angie Swiger confronted the Lambidonises in the parking lot. He said officers walked over to the scene, but it was "pretty much calmed down" by the time they arrived.

"Tensions are usually high during election season, and this year does not seem to be an exception," Netemeyer said.

After a request for further comment, Angie Swiger responded with a statement on the situation. She restated what she said in the council meeting on how the occurrence unfolded from her point of view.

"It's all very strange, and the timing is questionable as we head into the off-season and into the final month before an election," she said in the statement. "I don't know the Lambidonis' true motive, but if they were not happy in the location, I'm certain we could've come to an agreement."

She stated she wishes the Lambidonises "the very best" in any of their future endeavors.

Lambidonis did not respond to GCM for comment on plans for their business before press time.