Business named after Fort Liberty reacts to recent name change: 'A name is not going to affect me'

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- While Fort Bragg has shed its old name "Liberty" thanks to the recent change from the Trump administration, a number of businesses in the area still have 'Liberty" in their branding from the last renaming in 2023.

Liberty Island Foods on Bragg Boulevard is one of those businesses.

"We're trying to make everything we do something that is more traditional but also meets the needs of everyone," said restaurant owner Marvin Samuels.

Samuels opened his new restaurant Liberty Island Foods last month only a few weeks before the Trump Administration named the nearby military installation back to Bragg.

Samuels said he came around to the name "Liberty" when he learned "Bragg" was the name of a Confederate general. However, he said he sensed changing the name of the installation would change the way servicemembers look at the institution.

ALSO SEE: Military timeline of installation first known as Camp Bragg

"Every service member knows Fort Bragg as Fort Bragg from basic training all the way up to a major or a general in the army," he said. "We know it as far as Fort Bragg. That's what we knew it as. We didn't even look at the history. I know I didn't look at the history of the name."

Still, the Fort Bragg vet said he's not affected by Trump swapping out the name Fort Liberty for Fort Bragg.

"My focus is to bring a quality product to our community. A name is not going to affect me one way or the other. It's my community knowing me that affects me," Samuels said.

He said his restaurant's name is still staying put for now.

"We're here to expand within the community and show our community that, 'hey, you know what, Liberty Island Food is here,'" Samuels said.

RELATED: Daughter of WWII veteran Roland Bragg reacts to Fort Liberty name change: 'Very proud of my father'