Subway is coming to Mariposa and has divided its residents. The discussion has even found its way to Facebook. Some have altered the name Subway and changed it to "NoWay" and printed it on shirts.
"Are we going to move towards this unique bustling strong independent economy or are we moving towards the global market place," asked business owner Brenda Ostrom.
Amy Eaton's sandwich shop in Mariposa thrives because of seasonal tourism to Yosemite National Park. There are about 15 other local, independent eateries in town that also compete for those dollars. When Eaton heard a Subway franchise was moving right next door she worried business would disappear. "When you boil down to what the cost is, dollar-wise ... I can't compete with that," she expressed.
In just a few weeks, this empty building in downtown will be offering the signature $5 foot long. The sandwich shops closest to the Subway are afraid they'll be the ones to go out of business first. But here's the thing, the person that owns this building also owns those sandwich shops. He says he made a special deal to make sure everybody stays in business.
"We wrote that into our agreement with Subway that the people that are here are protected and they can do what they want. They were here first, they're locals," said property owner Ron Iudice.
Iudice wouldn't go into specifics on protections given to other businesses, and said Subway is just what Mariposa needs.
"The spill over business from something like this will definitely benefit them and everybody in the neighborhood," Iudice added.
Tuesday the Board of Supervisors listened to both sides but as of now does not plan to stop Subway. When it arrives Subway will join two other franchises downtown ... the Pizza Factory and Burger King.
