AUSTIN, Texas — The City of Austin is asking residents to weigh in on whether one of the city’s most recognizable streets should get a new name. It is a change that could cost more than $1 million and affect hundreds of businesses and residents.

The first of three community meetings on the possible renaming of César Chávez Street is being held Tuesday evening.

The major Austin thoroughfare has only been known as César Chávez Street since 1993. Before that, it was 1st Street, and long before that, Water Avenue.

When Juan Meza Jr. started working at Juan in a Million, the road outside the longtime East Austin restaurant was still East 1st Street. More than three decades later, the City of Austin is considering another name change.

“I believe that we should get all the community’s response on this and it should be, you know, as a joint decision, not just, you know, one group or one person,” Meza, the restaurant’s general manager, said.

Austin leaders renamed the street for civil rights and labor leader César Chávez in 1993.

Following sexual abuse allegations against Chávez that surfaced earlier this year, several City Council members called for Austin to consider changing the name.

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If that happens, Meza said businesses like his will have some work to do.

“Cost-wise, I think it would be very low, wouldn’t be too much,” Meza said. “You know, maybe changing our website, changing our business cards, maybe checks, stuff like that.”

For the city, however, the price tag would be much higher.

According to a recent City of Austin report, the renaming process could cost as much as $1.2 million.

The estimated costs include:

$400,000 to $1.2 million for TxDOT and Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority highway signs$11,200 to replace city street signs$10,000 to replace economic district custom street signs$10,000 for community engagement$2,500 for notification mailings

Those estimates do not include the potential costs for roughly 450 affected addresses along César Chávez Street, including 153 businesses. Businesses and residents could face their own expenses associated with changing an address, including administrative, physical, marketing and online updates.

Juan in a Million owner Juan Meza said those costs should not prevent the city from making a change.

“All this controversy concerning his background and what was done, yes, I think we should change the name,” Meza said.

But the debate is about more than the cost of changing signs and addresses.

For generations, the corridor has been part of the cultural and commercial heart of Austin’s Mexican American and Latino communities. The 1993 renaming honored Chávez and reflected the community’s connections to the farmworker movement, organized labor and civil rights.

For some people who live and work along the street, another name change raises questions about preserving that history.

“There is a lot of history here,” said Simeon Dumas, who works on César Chávez Street. “I have a lot of family that actually grew up in this area, so when you change the name it’s like part of the history is being taken away from them.”

The city is asking Austinites to answer two primary questions:

Should César Chávez Street be renamed?If it is, what should the new name be?

Meza Jr. already has one suggestion.

“Juan in a Million would be nice,” he said.

The city plans to hold three community meetings and collect responses through an online survey before evaluating the feedback. Staff is expected to make a recommendation to the Austin City Council this fall.

Meeting Dates:

Tuesday, August 11, 5–7 p.m. – Austin Central Library, 710 W César Chávez StSaturday, August 15, 2–4 p.m. – Sanchez Elementary School, 73 San Marcos StTuesday, August 18, 6–8 p.m. – Virtual Zoom Webinar