For incoming Trojans, Los Angeles can be an intimidating place to explore: Gary Brown, the program administrator at the Office of Business Opportunity at University Relations, said new Trojans often ask where to go to find specific articles of clothing, a certain haircut or a particular cuisine.

During the pandemic, the Black Student Assembly launched an initiative to address this common problem and unite USC students with local small businesses. From their efforts, Trojan Shop Local was born. Brown describes it as “opportunities for these businesses to succeed and [for USC to] give back to the local community.”

Today, Trojan Shop Local is a network of over 60 local and diverse small businesses that allows students to give back and support local enterprises. The program even expanded last semester to include pop-up events, bringing local vendors into Seeds Marketplace, with more pop-ups in development for the fall.

The network covers eight different areas: University Park, Health Sciences Campus, South L.A., Figueroa Corridor, Downtown Corridor, Koreatown, Eastside and Mid-City. The shops range from bakeries and cafes to personal care services like barbershops. Anyone interested in local establishments can find detailed descriptions of each business, which are organized into nine categories on the Trojan Shop Local website. 

Oaxacalifornia is an Oaxacan ice cream shop located in Mercado La Paloma, a food hall located within the Fryft zone. The 22-year-old family-owned business joined Trojan Shop Local after hearing about the network from fellow businesses, said Juan Carlos Antonio Hernandez, the shop’s manager of day-to-day operations and son of the founder, Juan Antonio. Juan Carlos Antonio Hernandez said working with Trojan Shop Local has helped bring in customers. 

“We got attention [through] social media, from USC students,” Antonio Hernandez said. “We work a lot with the faculty there when they do events. [We’ve done] the freshman orientation events for [the] past two years, and we’ve always been involved with USC; we love working with them.”

To join the network, businesses can fill out a Google Form listed on the Trojan Shop Local website. Another effective method is the time-honored practice of word-of-mouth, which helped an ice cream shop in a vibrant downtown L.A. community become part of the Trojan Shop Local network.

Trojan Shop Local is not only bringing Trojans to local businesses but also creating opportunities for these establishments on campus.  

These pop-ups are a recent collaboration between Trojan Shop Local and USC Hospitality, according to Erika Chesley, senior associate director of hospitality programs and partnerships at USC Hospitality. 

Their first pop-up event was in February, when local restaurants and caterers came into Seeds Marketplace for Black History Month. To celebrate Black heritage and history, USC Village Dining Hall collaborated with 27th Street Bakery, a local business founded in the 1930s, to bring special desserts to the menu.

“The two pop-ups that we did … were very successful,” Chesley said. “We got a lot of positive feedback … So, when we start to do our planning for the fall semester, a taste of L.A. is definitely something that will be brought back in the fall semester, and we will continue to work very closely with Trojan Shop Local to identify local businesses that we want to shine a spotlight on.” 

Brown, who has been working on the initiative since the beginning, says he is especially proud of the Dumplin’ by Aro pop-up that launched in April at Seeds Marketplace. Dumplin’ by Aro was the second pop-up collaboration between Trojan Shop Local and USC Hospitality, hosted in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The event offered Trojans the chance to get chipotle chicken dumplings, Korean BBQ beef dumplings and vegan samosa dumplings at Tutor Campus Center.  

“Everybody loved [the pop-up],” Brown said. “Everyone is asking, ‘When are they coming back?’ So that was a good feeling, that now we have it going so well that [local businesses] can come in. We have the opportunities for these businesses to succeed and give back to the local community.”