Parked outside of Keck Hospital five days a week, Nickii Park’s two coffee stands have been fixtures of the Health Sciences Campus for more than 20 years. But on Oct. 31, Park’s business will be required to vacate the premises because of a decision from Keck Medicine officials. 

The purpose of the decision to terminate Keck’s agreement with Park was to make way for a new Starbucks that will be opening in Norris Healthcare Center. The news came as a shock to Park, as she didn’t believe she would have to close both of her stands. 

“It was super ultra impacting my life,” Nickii Park said in Korean. Her daughter, Stacy Park, translated the interview. “I was in shock, and I couldn’t eat or sleep.”

After hearing about termination of the agreement, Park attached a petition to her stands — which Park said received more than 1,000 signatures — urging Keck officials to reverse the decision. After two days, Keck officials ordered Park to remove the petition.

The Norris Healthcare Center opened in 2017 with the intention of expanding food services on campus. The new Starbucks, which is operated by USC Hospitality, will be the second at HSC. Marty Sargeant, CEO of Keck Medical Center of USC, said Keck notified Park in February 2022 that it would not be renewing its agreement with her. 

Sargeant said that Keck had to consolidate the available food services on campus to fully support the opening of an additional Starbucks location and other services at the Norris Healthcare Center.

“We did not feel at the time we had ability for sustaining multiple sites of [food service] operations,” Sargeant said. “With the investments we’re making and the people we’re hiring under University services for the Starbucks, we want to make sure that we give that a full sense of operability.”

Park said she received her official letter of termination in July, with a termination date in September, but  received an extension to October after contacting Keck officials.

Park also submitted an appeal for her stands to stay at one location on campus, which Keck denied. Now, she is uncertain about the future of her business. The two coffee stands are Park’s sole source of income and employ four full-time workers.

“I was looking for a location to move our kiosk. But there was none. I can’t find anywhere. Nothing,” Park said.

Since receiving the appeal, Keck officials have continued to meet with Park to discuss her next steps.

“We said we would certainly look to see what options we could utilize to help a transition or a softer landing,” Sargeant said. “We don’t have anything definitive at this point. You know, we’re sensitive to the fact that this is her passion.”

Eric Weintraub, the marketing administrator for the USC Roski Eye Institute, said Park’s coffee stands have become popular among his colleagues because of their convenient location in the Keck Hospital complex. The coffee stands also help cater for events for the department, guest speakers and prospective students. After being alerted to the situation, Weintraub and his office went to sign Park’s petition before it was removed.

“There’s not a lot of food here at all,” Weintraub said. “But the food we do have is Panda Express, Starbucks, Chipotle, Dunkin Donuts. And as far as I know, this coffee stand is one of the only two small businesses on the entire Health Sciences Campus.”

Weintraub said the removal of Park’s stands is a diversity, equity and inclusion issue and his colleagues have contacted Shannon Bradley, the chief diversity and inclusion officer of Keck Medicine. 

“This very much feels like a situation where [USC is] not practicing what they preach,” Weintraub said. “You have two small businesses led by a woman of color who has been doing it for 20 years, and USC is just showing her the door to bring in yet another giant conglomeration … Why does this woman need to close her business so that Starbucks can open?”

Park said there is nothing she can do to reverse the decision now.

“I feel regretful, angry and sad,” Park said. “I can’t express in words how I feel.”