East Austin Chain Restaurant Opening Hoax Sparks Gentrification Debate

EAST AUSTIN, TX — An untold number of words, both uttered and written, have been expressed as it relates to the gentrification of East Austin. Depending on what part of the debate divide one is in, brisk commercial development in long-established neighborhoods causes either angst about fast-eroding old neighborhoods or cheers from the pro-market, take-no-prisoners capitalist camp.

But one prankster pulled off a stunt without saying a single word, yet sparked a dialogue related to the trend's more corrosive effects in changing the character of a neighborhood. Someone (nobody knows who) on Thursday posted official-looking signs at the corner of East 6th and Waller streets alerting to an upcoming grand opening for a Chilis' Grill & Bar eatery.

The creator of the elaborate prank didn't stop at tangible materials to drive home the message, creating a Twitter page dubbed Chili's East Austin to advance the fiction. "Yes, it's true," one tweet read. "We can't wait to serve you, East Austin!" the unknown prankster added, inviting Twitter users to follow the page for updates or visit the fake eatery's Instagram account.

For the uninitiated, East 6th Street is a funky corridor of dives, tattoo parlors, music venues and food trucks that is something of a bohemian's paradise. Sixth Street mavens descend to the block each weekend, reveling in its frenetic pace and vague anti-establishment charm.

The point of all this is that a Chili's restaurant wouldn't only stick out like a sore thumb on East 6th Street. but would also telegraph the slow erosion of the eccentric block—a gradual corrosive effect all too real by families being displaced from East Austin amid soaring, gentrification-fueled property rate increases. Some folks have been forced to the city's outskirts, no longer able to afford the mortgage payments on homes that often have been in their families for generations.

Worldly (and sometimes world-weary) East Austin denizens are rather hip to the scene, and many got the point immediately as social media posts would suggest.

"Almost everyone kind of got that it was a joke immediately," Jess Burton told Spectrum News Austin. Others weren't so sure; "There were a few people that were, like, 'what the hell?' " he added.

Others applauded the elaborate nature of the hoax if not the restaurant:

The prankster seemingly spared no expense in driving the point home as it relates to gentrification. In a bit of enterprise reporting, the news station consulted with the owner of a local sign company to estimate the cost in driving the paint home.

Twelve-foot-by-two-foot banners: Up to $180 apiece. An install fee: Probably another couple hundred bucks. Total price of hoax: From $600 to $700. Making the issue of gentrification on a beloved spot accessible to some who may know of its effects only in the abstract: Priceless.

Austin 360 reported that the former home of Uptown Sports Club does have new owners, but they have no plans to re-open the site as a Chili's restaurant. On social media post, the Chili's people added to the ensuing discussion with a cryptic post: "That would be weird for us to move to East 6th," officials wrote, adding the hashtags: #KeepAustinWeird #FakeNews.

It's not clear from the post if the restaurant chain meant it would be weird for them to locate there because A) They respect the unique character of the corridor and wouldn't dream of altering it; B) the demographics of East 6th Street aren't compatible with their clientele profile; or C) they believe they're too good to ever even think of locating in area that some might call vaguely seedy.

Surely an East 6th Street Chili's eatery would unleash the tie-wearing, 9-to-5 types, upwardly mobile types not unlike an invasive species introduced into a delicate ecosystem long in the making, a breed of human incompatible with the bohemian crowd comprising wonderfully weird, eccentric, live-in-the-moment denizens.

Based on the reaction on social media from those who treasure East 6th Street—warts and all—the message to Chili's (directly and as gentrification metaphor) was clear: We don't want your baby back baby back baby back ribs here.

>>> Photo credit: Ninjakeg via Wikimedia Commons