'Illegal Pete' Turner at newest restaurant location in Tucson.Listen:
Pete Turner says he and his father were known for being "hell raisers" and lawbreakers in their youth.
As a result, when Turner opened his first restaurant in 1995, he chose to name it "Illegal Pete’s" as a nod to himself and his dad, who is also named Pete.
Turner will bring his restaurant’s mission-style Mexican cuisine to Tucson next month when he opens his eighth franchise location on University Boulevard. However, some in Tucson find the name offensive.
The century-old building where Mexican restaurant "Illegal Pete's"will open in December 2015. University of Arizona student group Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlán, known as M.E.Ch.A., has spearheaded a protest of the use of the word “illegal” in the restaurant’s name.
“Being that the name does kind of bring controversy in being that mainly a lot of the people here in the community are of a Latino descent it kind of brings up a bad taste to the mouth,” said Mark Bernal, co-chair of the social justice student group.
The group organized an online petition asking Turner to change the name, and almost 2,000 people have signed in two weeks.
Alexia Mora, a UA senior and the other co-chair of the club, said group members recognize Turner’s determination to stick to his branding, but she hopes they can persuade him otherwise.
"I know that he’s had other locations, and he’s doing his side as a businessman," Mora said. "I mean it’d be ideal for the name to change because it’d just be really awesome to do. But you know, if not, we’re more than willing to sit down with him and talk and negotiate what we can do to make a change."
The name “Illegal Pete” was not intended to offend when Turner named his first franchise that in 1995, he said.
“That word has never been said in that context in my business for 20 years," he said. "I mean, just never man. We are a very inclusive, open brand.”
In their online petition, M.E.Ch.A. members accused Turner of “blissful ignorance” and “profit[ing] off of racism.”
Turner countered that there is no relation between "illegal" in his restaurant’s name and the Mexican-style cuisine it serves.
“The name of my restaurant was never meant to imply that," he said. "It’s Illegal Pete’s, it’s me and my dad, and it’s how I’ve been known to my friends and family and my employees and customers for 20 years."
Turner experienced a similar public outcry last year when he opened a branch in Fort Collins, Colo., and he expected to see it again in Tucson.
“Since I’d gone through this in Fort Collins, I knew the way, you know that sort of terminology - illegals - and that whole things has definitely been a problem in the last 10 years, and certainly Arizona has its share of issues with that and some laws that I think are totally backwards and sort of un-American, in my opinion. But yeah I anticipated that I would see it again,” Turner said.
Despite his preparation for the response to the name, Turner said the controversy surrounding Illegal Pete’s is something he never could have predicted when he chose the name over 20 years ago.
“I feel like we’re kinda caught in the crossfire, which is a really strange place to be, with all of this attention,” he said. “It was never the intent.”
He hopes the conversation about the name might serve a larger purpose.
“These are issues that do need to be talked about. These are issues that do need to be solved. These are issues that affect people every single day,” Turner said.
'Illegal' Pete Turner with University of Arizona students Mark Bernal and Alexia Mora of M.E.Ch.A. M.E.Ch.A.'s leaders said they won’t stop their opposition to Illegal Pete’s after opening day.
“If it opens under the name, then we’re more than willing to strike and protest,” Mora said.
Turner said he was determined to keep the name, even with the prospect of a boycott.
“I will continue to talk to people and listen to people, and yeah I guess I would still consider it," he said. "Right now it’s not in my plans."
The restaurant is scheduled to open in mid-December.
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