Starbucks Opens In Yosemite National Park

Above, Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls. The falls are within earshot
 of the new Starbucks in Yosemite Village. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Despite a petition (or two) campaign, Starbucks has opened in Yosemite National Park.

The news Starbucks is located in the food court in Yosemite Village and it is most noteworthy that there is a lack of signage.

According to The Guardian (U.K.):

It looks and feels just like any of the other roughly 27,000 Starbucks locations that have opened around the world. The green apron-clad barista makes tall, grande and venti coffee concoctions that are handed over in familiar mermaid-endowed cups. 

But from the parking lot outside – where there is an intentional lack of Starbucks signage - the world-famous Yosemite falls can be heard through the patter of an early spring rainstorm. 

The Starbucks is part of a major remodel inside the 128-year-old Yosemite national park. It was built to provide comfort, convenience and caffeine to the 4 to 5 million visitors who arrive each year. To many, however, the Starbucks represents a trend of encroaching commercialism inside one of the nation’s most beloved natural landmarks.

Personally, I don't see anything wrong with having a familiar brand as a vendor in Yosemite. Starbucks is not the first such vendor in a national park. For example, next to the Grand Canyon Village market is a Chase bank branch. It came in very handy the last time I visited Grand Canyon National Park.

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