Plans to bring Starbucks to Yosemite cause grande headache

FILE - This Dec. 20, 2010 file photo shows signage at a Starbucks store in New York. (AP)

An online petition to stop a Starbucks café from opening in Yosemite has garnered a latte support.

As of Monday morning, more than 8,500 people had signed the petition.

Some of the signers voiced concerns over what they see as the spread of corporate development within the park even though the store would be inside a food court and not free standing.

“Multinational corporations have no place in our National Parks,” the petition reads. “The opening of a Starbucks in Yosemite Valley opens the door to further undue development. The Park will lose its essence, making it hardly distinguishable from a chaotic and bustling commercial city.”

Yosemite Falls seen from the air in Yosemite National Park, California, U.S. (REUTERS)

The Fresno Bee reported that Yosemite Hospitality, which is a divison of Aramark, the park’s concessionaire, is in talks with the coffee chain.

Lisa Cesaro, the marketing manager at Yosemite Hospitality, told the paper that the park is looking to “enhance the visitor experience.”

Many signers and locals expressed a desire to keep the park free from big city amenities.

“This could start a trend that has already seen the introduction of corporate sponsors like Budweiser, REI, and Subaru for the NPS,” Freddie Brewster told The Fresno Bee.