Stickers bearing the message ' Maximum of 5 colored customers / colored BOH staff members ' appeared overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday . The stickers were affixed to at least 6 businesses in the hip East Austin neighborhood as customers partied and swapped tech equipment at SXSW . shop owners ca n't agree on what the stickers mean -- is it racist or a message about gentrification ? -- but all say they 're inappropriate . Austin Mayor staff Adler declared the messages ' an appalling and offensive expression of ignorance in our city '
Stickers bearing the message 'Maximum of 5 colored customers/colored BOH staff accepted ' appeared overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday . The stickers were affixed to at least 6 businesses in the hip East Austin neighborhood as thousands partied and swapped tech trends at SXSW . Business owners ca n't agree on what the stickers mean -- is it racist or a message about gentrification ? -- but all say they 're inappropriate . Austin Mayor Steve Adler declared the messages 'an appalling and offensive display of ignorance in our city '