With USC Village set to open, Lil Bill’s Bike Shop told to leave campus

Daily Trojan

Tucked away in a parking lot across from the Lyon Center, Lil Bill’s Bike Shop can be easy to miss. The shop, which resembles a plastic shed, has become a popular place for students to reinflate flat tires, purchase spare parts, or chat with “Lil Bill” himself: Aaron Flournoy, the shop’s owner. “The name comes from my dad, whose name is Bill, and he has been a pillar in this community for over 40 years,” Flournoy said. “He owned a bike shop down the street, but he sold the business. Everyone always called me little Bill, because Pops was always big Bill.”
The shop holds a strong place in the University Park Campus area, but according to David Donovan, an associate director of the USC Transportation Office, USC agreed to a non-compete clause with a new bike shop opening in USC Village this summer. Lil Bill’s Bike Shop will no longer remain on USC-owned property, leaving Flournoy in a state of uncertainty.
“My dad is 81, so he’s selling his store and retiring,” Flournoy said. “This was a perfect opportunity for me to carry it on, and I thought it was going to be something good. But it’s turning out to be bad.”
According to Donovan, the complications surrounding the establishment of Lil Bill’s Bike Shop can be traced back to last fall, when USC purchased the United University Church property.
When Flournoy purchased the business under its original name, Tommy’s Bike Repair, the shop was originally located in the United University Church parking lot, a privately owned property at the time. This enabled the shop’s original owner, Micah Greenberg, to establish a contract with the church that allowed for a bike shop on its premises, which he passed on to Flournoy.
However, when USC purchased the church property after years of negotiation, the ...

Read more