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USC graduate James Choi inaugurated Cafe Dulce at the USC Village in 2017. (USC Photo/Stephen Gee)
Enterprise
The journey of USC graduate James Choi’s Cafe Dulce
Choi, a 2005 USC alumnus with a degree in accounting, established the cafe-bakery.
If you’ve ever wandered through USC Village, you’ve likely noticed the queue stretching out the door at Cafe Dulce. This beloved cafe-bakery was founded by James Choi, who completed his studies at USC in 2005 with a focus in accounting.
Choi left his position as a financial auditor at the accounting firm EY to assist his mother in launching the first Cafe Dulce in the Little Tokyo area of Los Angeles in 2011 following a setback with her original business partner. “My mom truly aspired to open a cafe-bakery,” he said. “She had just overcome cancer, so I arrived to figure out how to manage a cafe-bakery, and here we are 14 years later.”
Cafe Dulce has expanded to five locations, yet the one in USC Village occupies a unique spot in Choi’s heart. Since its inception in 2017, it has transformed into more than a mere spot for coffee and pastries. “This is definitely our most thriving Dulce,” Choi remarked. “We’ve integrated into the culture here, and I never take that lightly.”
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