Livingston Locals Start Petition to Keep Starbucks Out of Town

Many residents in Livingston are voicing concerns about a proposed Starbucks location.

According to the Livingston Chamber of Commerce, Starbucks first planned on opening a location inside of Albertson's, but those plans fell through. Instead, Starbucks purchased the old Arby's building at 2000 W. Park Street and plans are already moving forward with opening a new location in town.

A lot of residents aren't happy about a Starbucks location in Livingston and have started a petition to stop it from happening. One of the main reasons is that there are already twelve locally-owned coffee shops in Livingston, and residents would rather support small business owners in the community.

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Many residents feel that Starbucks would put a lot of the little guys out of business and that with many businesses already dealing with staffing and workforce shortages, competing with a corporation such as Starbucks would add additional pressure on business owners who are already struggling to get by.

Livingston is a busy place during tourist season, and a lot of people travel through Livingston en route to Yellowstone National Park. Those people should be supporting locally-owned businesses, not a place like Starbucks.

Another major issue is that many businesses have been struggling to find workers, which is one of the reasons why the Arby's location shut down. Local business owners are already limiting hours due to the labor shortage, and Starbucks could potentially have a difficult time finding employees.

Livingston, MT is unique for its abundance of small businesses that make up our strong community. Larger franchises such as Starbucks diminish our small town's character and take business away from other locally-owned coffee shops in town.

A Change.org petition has been started and Livingston residents hope to gather enough signatures to stop plans for a new Starbucks.

To add your signature, sign the petition below.