East Austin Eatery Sparks Anti-Gentrification Protest

EAST AUSTIN, TEXAS — Local activists on Saturday plan to protest a new East Austin restaurant located inside a formerly iconic Latino business in a new incarnation the group and others consider a case of overt cultural appropriation.

Activists with Defend our Hoodz — Defiende el Barrio on Friday announced via Facebook of their plans to protest outside Lou's Bodega on 1900 E. Cesar Chavez St. Since its recent opening by a pair of high-profile developers, the development has been widely lambasted by East Austin residents already anxiety-raddled over the brisk pace of gentrification that's resulted in soaring property values and residents' displacement.

Lou's Bodega — launched by prominent developers Larry McGuire and Liz Lambert of McGuire Moorman Hospitality — is located in building once occupied by Leal's Tire Shop. The color scheme and much of the culturally resonant iconography —including symbols evocative of the Aztec empire — were retained by the restaurant's developers despite its non-Latino ownership.

Critics also decry the use of the word bodega — a Spanish-language word for a small grocery store or wine shop — as more perceived appropriation. The controversy comes amid sweeping generation of what once was largely a Latino-inhabited enclave now dotted with luxury apartments and upscale eateries catering from an influx of newcomers lured to Austin's thriving economy.

Related story: New East Austin Restaurant Seen As Embodying Gentrification

“We demand that Lou’s Bodega immediately end any use of Chicano and indigenous imagery in their branding, whether on merchandise, packaging or on their website,” protest organizers said in a Facebook post. “This includes their ‘woman warrior’ tote bags, their T-shirts with ‘Bienvenidos’ on them, and indigenous patterns on hats and elsewhere.”

Others protesting the site have taken to posting what amount to before-and-after photos of Leal's Tire Shop and Lou's Bodega to buttress their claims of appropriation. Indeed, the outward appearance of Lou's Bodega was kept much the same as its former incarnation, unleashing a torrent of criticism for its retention of Chicano-style art and indigenous symbols as its aesthetic despite the eatery not being Latino-owned. :

The protest is planned on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 11 a.m. at Pan Am Park, 2100 E. 3rd St., located 3/10 of a mile, or two minutes away, from Lou's Bodega.

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