\u201cThey came in and destroyed my business, the city of Fort Worth. Now they\u2019re doing this,\u201d Gauna said. \u201cI guess I\u2019ll be out all the money for new signs and paperwork and everything. It\u2019s really going to hurt.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gauna and nine other business owners who operate along White Settlement Road told the Fort Worth Report on Monday they oppose a proposal to rename a roughly mile-long strip of the street, citing concerns about the financial burden the change would impose on their businesses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some said they fear having to close or relocate their businesses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
City Council members will vote Tuesday on changing the name to Westside Drive<\/a> at the request of developers to mirror the name of their upcoming $1.7 billion Westside Village.<\/a> The project along White Settlement Road is set to break ground next year and, upon completion, will include a mix of office and retail space, plus a luxury hotel and apartments.\u00a0<\/p>\n Although hopeful the proposal gets voted down, Gauna said, he doubts city officials are concerned about how the name change would impact small businesses. He expects his shop to lose even more customers once its address loses the recognition that comes with the controversial yet well-known street name.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe city\u2019s just out to make money, whatever can bring in a dollar more than what they got \u2014 that\u2019s what they want to do,\u201d Gauna said.\u00a0<\/p>\n City spokesperson Sana Syed did not return a request for comment on business owners\u2019 financial concerns. Officials have said Westside Village\u2019s developer will cover the approximately $26,000 expected in city costs for the name change.\u00a0<\/p>\n White Settlement Road\u2019s name is a nod to the area\u2019s history<\/a> when white settlers pushed Native Americans out of the region. The once prairie-lined road stretches west from downtown toward the city of White Settlement.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some Native American advocates have long pushed for the name to be changed, saying it serves as a painful reminder of Tarrant County\u2019s history and the trauma felt by local Indigenous communities. In 2021, then-newly elected Mayor Mattie Parker and other City Council members said they were open to the discussion<\/a> of a new name but hadn\u2019t brought the issue to a formal vote<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n If approved, the name change would affect the strip of White Settlement Road that stretches from the roundabout intersection of North Henderson Street and Jacksboro Highway to University Drive.<\/p>\n Dancing Heart Iglesias is the CEO and co-founder of Flipstone Vintage and Thrift at the intersection of White Settlement Road and Carroll Street. A Native American woman, she said she recognized the \u201cirony\u201d of opening her business on a road named for the area\u2019s exclusion of Indigenous people.\u00a0<\/p>\n But she opposes changing the road\u2019s name unless city officials find a way to honor and preserve the area\u2019s history and impact on local Native American communities. As is, \u201cWhite Settlement\u201d is a conversation starter that may prompt people to learn the name\u2019s origin, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTo change that name, it would simply be erasing everything that even provokes somebody to ask questions,\u201d Iglesias said. \u201cTo me, that\u2019s a really big thing to erase.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Other business owners along the road said a name change would force them to rebrand signs, advertisements and business cards, as well as amend state and federal licenses.\u00a0<\/p>\n Angelo\u2019s BBQ, for example, includes its address \u2014 with the road\u2019s name \u2014 on its bright yellow sign towering alongside the longtime Fort Worth haunt.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been here in business for 67 years with the same name, same street,\u201d owner Jason George said. \u201cAll my advertising, all my logos, everything has White Settlement Road on it. It would cost me a ton of money and a lot of headaches to have everything rebranded.\u201d<\/p>\n City staff told a business owner via email that the city would not provide financial assistance to businesses for rebranding efforts, according to a copy of the email reviewed by the Fort Worth Report.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou should be able to update business cards and other marketing collateral at your convenience or when you need to re-stock them,\u201d an email from the Transportation and Public Works Department read.\u00a0<\/p>\n City staff will notify departments and agencies \u2014 including the fire department, U.S. Postal Service and Oncor \u2014 of the address change on the businesses\u2019 behalf, the email added.<\/p>\n Chris Mahon oversees Tarrant County operations for the glass repair company Binswanger Glass and is based at its Fort Worth store on White Settlement Road.\u00a0<\/p>\n Company leaders estimate they\u2019d have to pay tens of thousands of dollars to go through \u201call the necessary proceedings and processes\u201d to accommodate an address change, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n That would include updating contracts with hundreds of vendors, contacting thousands of customers, filling out new credit applications and delaying the completion of labor invoices, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to cost me more than the $26,000 that the other guy\u2019s going to put up to pay for the city to go and change all the signs,\u201d Mahon said.<\/p>\n Westside Village\u2019s developers, FW Westside RE Investors, did not immediately respond to request for comment.<\/p>\n Many of the business owners expressed frustration that the name change appears to be driven primarily by a developer rather than residents, businesses or community members.\u00a0<\/p>\n Iglesias said city officials are intentionally attempting to drive small businesses out of the area to make way for developers with deep pockets. She\u2019s worried that the planned upscale project will drive up the cost of renting her storefront and force her to relocate. If that happens, she\u2019s not sure her small vintage thrift store would survive.\u00a0<\/p>\n David Forbes, president of Forbes Rebuilt Automotive Parts, in business since 1942, is worried that a lesser-known, vague street address will affect his business\u2019s visibility and make it harder for people to find.<\/p>\n Melody Roberts and her husband have operated Western Haulers on White Settlement since 1982. While she understands why some find the road\u2019s name demeaning or degrading, she said frustrated that what\u2019s prompting a potential name change is the luxury development, not the road\u2019s controversial history.<\/p>\n \u201cFort Worth is going to get lots of tax dollars from this new development, and so they think, I guess, all of us that have been here forever are just gonna let it go right on through,\u201d she said, also noting the logistical headache of updating her logos, licenses and tax documents.<\/p>\n While Westside Trim & Glass would be along a road bearing a similar name to his shop if the council adopts it, city officials have told Gauna that his business\u2019s address would instead be the much smaller cross street of North Rupert Street, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n He worries that losing the name recognition of White Settlement Road for a street that\u2019s shorter than a mile could make his business even harder to find.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis city is just screwed up. I was born and raised here,\u201d Gauna said. \u201cI might as well be living in Dallas the way this place is going.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Cecilia Lenzen and Drew Shaw are government accountability reporters for the Fort Worth Report. Contact them at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org<\/a> and drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/102025-White-Settlement-Road-2-.jpg\")
Angelo\u2019s BBQ is one of many businesses along White Settlement Road that might need to be rebranded if City Council approves the road\u2019s name change. (Drew Shaw | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Lenzen_WhiteSettlement_06.jpg\")
White Settlement Road at the intersection of Carroll Street pictured Oct. 14, 2025. (Cecilia Lenzen | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/102025-White-Settlement-Road-3.jpg\")
Forbes Rebuilt Automotive Parts has been located on White Settlement Road since 1941. (Drew Shaw | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
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