'Think about all of us': Fayetteville businesses say they'll take a hit if Bragg Blvd is renamed

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- With the major rebrand coming to Fort Bragg just a few months away, state officials and leaders in the city of Fayetteville are discussing possibly renaming streets with the name "Bragg", like Bragg Boulevard and Fort Bragg road, as well.

Businesses told ABC11 that it would considerably impact them, particularly on the boulevard. Not everyone is worried about their businesses taking a hit.

Byron Gonzalez, the manager of Bragg Used Tires on Bragg Boulevard, said the shop's customer base is very loyal

"We already have our customers who come here every day or every week or every other month," he said.

However, William Milbourne, the owner of the Bragg Exchange, says he's been thinking of changing his business's name altogether.

"It's almost like starting a new business to a degree as far as the marketing aspect of it," Milbourne said. "It takes a long time for it to get generated and populated in Google, and listed, and all of those things that would come with it. And yeah, it would definitely be a challenge. But it's something we're looking at now because we realize it could be a very real possibility."

Monica Simpson of Aquarama Pets is worried about her business being visible online if street addresses change, too.

"Google doesn't update," Simpson said. "So newcomers to the town, they put that address in, and it's going to send them to wherever. They're not going to know where they're going because Google doesn't update every day."

Simpson also said it would be a costly, logistical nightmare that would distract her from caring for her animals.

"We'd have to redo our business cards. We'd have to redo our online marketing. We'd have to redo our shirts where we have our addresses on the back. We do coloring books for schools," she said.

Mayor Mitch Colvin says the city would look into ways it could use federal support to help small businesses if city-owned streets are renamed. The city would also hold public hearings before any changes are made.

"I really hope that they think about all of us small businesses who's going to take a loss on this with that address changing," Simpson said. "I would hate to see my parents take a loss just to accommodate a name."