Stone Mountain Park switches operators, affecting nearly 500 jobs
Every employee at one of Georgia’s most-visited attractions faces a shift amid a switch in operators.
The 497 employees at Stone Mountain Park will have to reapply for their positions as a new company takes over operations at the park by June 1, according to a warning posted Wednesday.
The employment disruption comes days after the state agency that runs the park selected a national firm to take over daily operations and staffing.
A similar layoff and job replacement campaign took place in 2022, the last time the park’s ownership switched operation partners.
Stone Mountain Park is a tourism destination mired in controversy and protest over its Confederate iconography, but it remains popular with roughly 2 million visitors annually.
The Stone Mountain Memorial Association — the state authority tasked with overseeing the park — on Monday selected Stone Mountain Hospitality LLC, a subsidiary of Aramark Destinations, as its next park operating partner. Stone Mountain Park’s current management firm is Thrive SMP, which has handled daily operations since 2022.
Aramark is a national firm that handles facility operations at several high-traffic landmarks, including Yosemite National Park and Lake Tahoe.
“All operations are expected to continue uninterrupted,” Aramark said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “And existing reservations and commitments — including annual passes, hotel and campground reservations, conferences and group events, and Yellow Daisy Festival vendor registrations — will remain unchanged.”
Aramark added it “intends to retain as many existing park and hotel team members as possible.” The specific number of new positions that will replace those laid off was not disclosed, but it’ll likely be a similar amount. All impacted employees will be able to reapply for positions as part of the transition, Aramark said.
Thrive SMP is a spinoff of Atlanta-based Herschend Family Entertainment, which had managed Stone Mountain Park from 1998 to 2022. Thrive and the association agreed to end their 10-year contract early, according to media reports.
The layoffs were made public in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, also known as a WARN notice.
Spanning 3,200 acres, Stone Mountain Park features multiple hotels, golf courses and recreation areas. Its centerpiece is a controversial 3-acre carving of four Confederate leaders on horseback.
“We are very excited to be a part of Stone Mountain Park and look forward to partnering with the local team members who have dedicated decades of their life to this beautiful place,” Aramark’s statement said.
About the Author
Zachary Hansen, a Georgia native, covers economic development and commercial real estate for the AJC. He's been with the newspaper since 2018 and enjoys diving into complex stories that affect people's lives.
