For almost 30 years, a small brick building between Marks Residence Hall and Marks Tower saw students pass in and out its doors.

Inside was a long chalkboard filled with dozens of coffee and milkshake options, including a whiteboard scribbled with limited-edition specials — options such as “Pirate’s Chai” or “Go to Sleep Grandma” — hanging over a coffee bar. Another wall featured a photo grid featuring student baristas. Across the room, foldable chairs and lumpy couches were scattered around tables, all behind a stage where students performed anything from spoken word poetry to dance to music. 

Ground Zero Performance Café was a student-run venue, home to various music shows, art and open mic nights. In its nearly three decades of operation on campus, the cafe was most famous for its milkshakes and coffee, including its secret menu of milkshakes such as the “Makeout Shake” and “The Absent Father.” In 2017, it made the Daily Trojan’s list of best coffee spots on campus.

Today, the spot is nothing more than a field of grass.

The venue had already faced issues leading up to its demolition. In August 2017, it briefly closed for renovations, reopening a year later as a study space and performance-only venue without its signature drinks. While the year-long renovation was meant to make long-needed improvements to the existing coffee bar and install bathrooms, Trojan Event Services said the venue ultimately lacked the proper credentials to serve fresh concessions and keep the coffee bar alive. 

Despite losing a major aspect of its appeal, the space continued to hold its open mic nights and spotlight performers, keeping a sense of community. But by December 2022, the University began demolishing the space, leaving students to find community elsewhere. 

Finding passion at Ground Zero

Jakaiya Burke, who graduated from USC in 2022 with a bachelor’s in music industry and in 2024 with a master’s in integrated design, business and technology, worked as a production manager at Ground Zero during her undergraduate studies, where she found her love for event planning. Burke began working in 2019 and was most excited to continue her friend’s event, “First Friday.”

“First Friday” took place on the first Friday of every month, with Burke being in charge of making the night’s lineup of performers. Despite only one semester of experience, Burke said it shaped her undergraduate experience positively. 

“It was putting money in my pocket to work there, and it was a place I could go and do something that I really had an interest in,” Burke said. 

Burke was disappointed she wouldn’t get to pass down her role as project coordinator with Ground Zero’s closing, just as her friends had done to her, which proved to be an integral tradition.

“I feel like it just dropped the ball. It was pretty sad,” Burke said. “I was glad that I got to experience the venue in all its glory. I wish that the kids under me were able to experience it, too.”

Enzo Luna, who graduated from USC in 2022 with a bachelor’s in journalism and in 2025 with a master’s in specialised journalism, was drawn to the space often, as it was a space where students could share their art freely. He said the space led him to new collaborations and to enter the world of photography, pick up his first DSLR camera and create a newfound passion. 

“It felt like students could share their art freely and not necessarily have any expectations about being the best at what they’re doing,” Luna said.

When Luna heard about the closing of Ground Zero, he questioned where students would go to perform, as other existing venues like Tommy’s Place weren’t “the same.” 

“Now people were scrambling to figure out house shows or different venues,” Luna said. “Once that was gone, it didn’t feel like there was a place for students to perform at whatever level they were at in their art.”

Performers find their crowd

While Ground Zero was a student-run hub, the cafe also attracted a variety of performers from the surrounding community. 

Trent Marderosian and Jeff Pridgen, members of the band Poe the Passenger, were introduced to Ground Zero by their old manager, who was a USC student. When reflecting on their first performance in 2022, Marderosian said they were “super impressed” by the environment. 

“One of the times we played there was like seven or eight different acts, and they were doing mixed media,” Marderosian said. “I know how difficult it can be to reel all of these different personalities and make a really big night out of it.” 

Pridgen said the culture of Ground Zero was “eclectic.” Pridgen said that the welcoming energy in the cafe isn’t easy to find when performing in Los Angeles. 

“Sometimes the venues can feel a little sterile because a lot of people are in the entertainment industry, but there was just a lot of love for the arts [at Ground Zero], and I definitely felt that,” Pridgen said. 

Pridgen said those in charge of Ground Zero “didn’t say no to anything,” and that although they were not paid to play, the staff was very welcoming, providing meals, merch tables and a green room for the band. The staff permitted genre variety in lineups and promoted experimentation.

Although Ground Zero has been closed for more than three years, with some students having only spent a short amount of time with the space in comparison to others, some still feel the impact of the loss. 

Jaren Savage, a senior majoring in communication, said he heard about Ground Zero before he started his undergraduate studies at USC in 2020. Having begun attending USC during the coronavirus pandemic, creative arts programs and clubs were hosting events via Zoom until everyone returned to campus. 

“Once we were coming back to campus, everybody would say that this type of thing would be transferred to Ground Zero,” Savage said. “So whenever you wanted to come to a creative space, Ground Zero was the one.”

Savage said he mostly focused on music during his time at Ground Zero, performing new songs every Monday throughout 2021 and enjoying the ability to share his music with an audience. 

“Sometimes an hour or two before the open mic would begin, I would sit in my car and write new songs,” Savage said. “It was a consistent event with a fairly large turnout. Every week was very helpful for me in terms of developing my performance skills.” 

Savage said he still keeps in touch with the people he met during his time at Ground Zero. Recently having run into friends he met there, Savage said they talked about “how much of a shame” it was that the cafe closed. 

Savage said while he acknowledges that the University may have needed to tear down the building for specific reasons, it is “even worse” that the area where Ground Zero was has not been replaced with anything. 

“I heard a lot of discussion about how it was just so beneficial for people, and [for] a lot of the people, once Ground Zero was gone, I never saw them perform again,” Savage said. 

Tommy’s Place keeps the arts alive

Tommy’s Place, USC’s underground concert venue built in 2010, has served as Ground Zero’s replacement in some ways. Located in the basement of Tutor Campus Center, the venue hosts open mic nights, karaoke and other entertainment events while still allowing USC organizations to rent the space. 

The venue has a main stage surrounded by seating that can be adjusted for specific events. While open to all student organizations, reservation requests must be made at least five weeks in advance, with the rental rate and staff pricing subject to change. 

Quamé Pierre, a junior majoring in theatre, works as a campus center supervisor on event scheduling at Tommy’s Place. 

“It’s nice to feel like I’m helping out and helping an organization or club make sure that they have what they need in order to do their event,” Pierre said. 

Pierre said Tommy’s Place is as close as you can get to a “dingy bar,” with its dark atmosphere and basement location, as its location is “closed off from everything.” 

“It feels like time can get lost in there, you could have an event in the middle of the day and still feel night vibes,” Pierre said. 

Despite its ability to hold student events similar to Ground Zero, Pierre said he doesn’t know if Tommy’s Place fully serves its purpose in terms of the impact it has on students. 

“I would say, if it was a free venue, I think it would impact everybody much more,” Pierre said. “Because it costs so much, it’s hard to justify doing anything other than a big event … and I think that stifles creativity in a way.” 

Tommy’s Place has some shortcomings, but it provides a space for student organizations and performers to join together. Pierre said Tommy’s place “changing the culture” around finances and giving students a discount could help the community interact more with it. 

“I would enjoy for it to be a place where people and groups can actually perform and don’t have to feel the financial cost and burden of that,” Pierre said. “I have friends that are struggling to find things for different performances that they want to do, and there’s this perfectly great place that isn’t being used by anyone.” 

Nae’Anna Johnson, a sophomore majoring in architecture, performed at Tommy’s Place for the first time last year, embracing her love for karaoke. 

“I was pretty nervous to go up on the stage, and people that didn’t know me were cheering me on saying, ‘You got this,’ even people who were playing the instruments on stage,” Johnson said. “It felt like they were really understanding and welcoming.” 

Although being on stage can be difficult, Johnson said that performing allows her to focus on what she’s doing and helps her overcome her stage fright. 

“I have anxiety to an extent, and being able to be on stage and also be in a crowd where people aren’t judging makes it easier for me to perform in front of others,” Johnson said. 

Johnson initially heard about Tommy’s Place thanks to the First Generation Student Assembly. 

“Considering how rigorous USC is, I think that space allows students to be free, even if it’s for two hours or so. It allows them space to be free and not really think much about their workload,” Johnson said. 

Disclaimer: Enzo Luna formerly served as a staff writer at the Daily Trojan Magazine in Fall 2024. Luna is no longer affiliated with this magazine.