New vendor ready to serve students at Trojan Farmers Market


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Jay’s Hot Dogs, the culinary passion project of Johnny Richard, first set up shop at one of the first USC Farmer’s Markets of the year. (Grace Bain | Daily Trojan)

Every Wednesday, the Trojan Farmers Market supports local vendors from the L.A. area. Swarms of hungry students have dozens of options to choose from as vendors set up tents selling everything from chicken and waffles to Hawaiian juices to fresh produce. On Sept. 11, a new vendor made its second-week debut — Jay’s Hot Dogs was ready to bring the spice to campus. 

Palmdale resident Johnny Richard decided to channel his passion for cooking into a business around a year and a half ago. He began cooking for himself at age 13, learning the art of spices from his parents. However, he said his friends were not aware of his culinary talents until he started making meals for them two years ago.

A little while after Richard began cooking for his friends, he started Jay’s Hot Dogs, founded on what he said is his creative take on a classic recipe. 

“I’m not a big fan of bland food,” Richard said. “I like to dibble and dabble with different seasonings — play with this, see how it tastes.” 

Since Richard started his business, he found success at different events and markets around the Antelope Valley. Now, through his connections at other farmers markets, Richard has found himself in an upgraded spot at USC in the past two weekly markets. 

“I think it fits in [the USC market] because a lot of people like the raw material stuff, but they also want to try different foods,” Richard said. “I’m sure all the stores and restaurants around campus, everyone’s probably been through them over and over and over.”  

As a local chef in search of support, Richard believes his tent brings something distinctive to the market: a tasty and satisfying alternative to typical college food. 

“I specialize in Philly cheesesteak fries,” Richard said. “Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, fried fish, chicken wings, deep fried cornish hens, the whole chicken, also homemade macaroni and cheese … and BBQ.” 

As next week approaches, Richard prepares for his second venture at the farmers market, nervous but confident in how well his food was received last week.

“I want to see how it goes,” Richard said. “Because [it was] my first week, I was surprised about the customers I was getting. It really picked up, real quickly. I think we did pretty well, even though it was our first time, because there were lines of people.”

By the end of the day, J’s Hot Dogs was ready to throw in the towel. Richard explained that it had sold out of mac and cheese, fries and fish. In anticipation for next week, J’s Hot Dogs looks forward to keep bringing out more culinary treats.