PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The owner of a historic cheesesteak shop in Philadelphia says he’s changing its controversial name.

Chink’s Steaks owner Joe Groh says he’ll change the name to Joe’s Steaks & Soda Shop on April 1. For years, civil rights groups have protested the current name because of its reference to a racial slur.

Groh says it’s time to "get with the times."

The shop in northeast Philadelphia opened in 1949 and was named for founder Sam "Chink" Sherman, who died in 1997. His widow told the Philadelphia Daily News in 2004 he was given the nickname by neighborhood kids.

Asian-American groups have long petitioned for a change. Several years ago, however, thousands of people signed a petition in favor of keeping the original name.