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Houston rap legend Bun B may bring his “Trill Burgers” franchise to HBCU campuses soon. He currently has a partnership with the University of Houston, and during an interview he spoke about potentially expanding to an HBCU.
“This is a very storied university. It’s a larger university,” he told HBCU Legends on SI. “They have a great booster system. A lot of HBCUs don’t have that kind of funding available, but it’s something that we would love to afford to any historically black college university in this country, not just those in close proximity. As we grow this brand, we are looking for newer ways to expand this company and connect with the community. And we are known as a cultural brand. So we have no problem bringing our culture into spaces where we don’t have to compromise it. And an HBCU would be the perfect platform for that.”
Trill Burgers is a joint business venture between Bun B and restaurateurs Andy Nguyen and Nick Scurfield. The business was founded in Houston in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. Known for their delicious smashburgers topped with their one-of-a-kind Trill Sauce, the business started with pop-ups at local culinary events and quickly became a huge success. Trill Burgers was named the best burger in America by Good Morning America in 2022. Trill Burgers has been popular at several music festivals, including Rolling Loud, Coachella, Something in the Water, and Rock the Bells.
At the 2023 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Trill Burgers won the Gold Buckle Food Award for Best Classic Fair Food. Chefs Mike Pham and Fernando Valladares served more than 41,000 burgers during the 2023 rodeo. Proceeds from Trill Burgers have been used to support local charities in Houston, including Chris Shepherd’s Southern Smoke Foundation and Second Servings of Houston.
Celebrities such as Clark Atlanta alumna Pinky Cole and Charlamagne Tha God have also brought popular restaurants to HBCU campuses and areas around it. Earlier this year, Charlemagne Tha God opened a Krystal’s location near South Carolina State University. In the past couple of years Pinky Cole’s Slutty Vegan restaurant opened a location on the Spelman College campus for two years before recently closing its doors last month following a student poll.
