Plant-based restaurant chain Hart House has officially expanded to the University of Southern California campus. Founded by actor, entrepreneur and comedian Kevin Hart, this move is hot off the heels of its recent expansion on Sunset & Highland in Hollywood, California back in May. This is the fourth Los Angeles area Hart House in less than a year since debuting in August 2022. The two other locations are in Westchester and Monrovia.
The chic new location on the USC campus consist of 1,310 square feet of interior space and a 2,300 square foot common area with 40 outdoor seats. Other perks include lounge seating, a water feature, table games including Giant Jenga and Cornhole, and even a fire pit for cold nights.
To welcome the new spot, Hart House hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony with USC Trojans guard Boogie Ellis, the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, and their community partner LA Promise Fund. Moreover, to celebrate the opening, 10 percent of the day’s proceeds were dedicated to the latter, which serves as a nonprofit organization dedicated to preparing Los Angeles students for success in college and life.
With a commitment to making plant-based food more accessible to all, Hart House will do its part in give healthy fast-food eating options in South Central, L.A. All Hart House ingredients are 100 percent plant-based with no antibiotics, hormones, artificial colors, preservatives, or high-fructose corn syrup.
“This is a big deal for us,” said CEO Andy Hooper. “I think any restaurant or growth company does not take as aggressive a pitch as we’ve taken — to open four locations in the first ten months that we’ve been around. I think the reason is that there’s not a lot of conviction in what somebody’s building.”
He continued: “I think in our case, it’s the exact opposite. We have very clear conviction that this quick-service restaurant industry needs a new flag carrier, and needs it to be somebody who’s not concerned with just making money, but about making high quality jobs and really high-quality vegan food that serves as a foundation for the industry.”
When asked why USC is a perfect location, Hart House Director of Marketing Marcus Byrd said the following: “USC is one of the premiere universities across America, especially in Los Angeles. For us to be able to open our fourth location, and first to a college segment, welcomes a new era. These are people who are thinking about the future, about the kind of world they want to live in, where food is accessible and good for them, their wallet, and the planet. When you factor in all those things, there’s a lot of reasons why students can stop by Hart House, and bring it all in with a delicious crispy chicken sandwich.”
Hart House also solidified its commitment to serving and empowering the community through charitable community partnerships with local non profit organizations. “It means so much to be a community partner of Hart House,” said Jade Stevens, the director of communications of LA Promise Fund.
“We have a shared vision of increasing access for people in South L.A,” she continued. “One thing that is really important to us is that our families have access to healthy foods so they can be whoever they were destined to be in life. Being able to partner with this amazing team really solidifies what we see in our vision of helping communities here in L.A.”
Hart House USC is located at 3726 S Figueroa, Los Angeles, CA 90027 on the first floor of the Tuscany Apartments. The hours of operations are from 11:00 am – 10:00 pm. For more information, visit www.myharthouse.com.