College athlete Seth Trimble has made history as the youngest owner of a Ben & Jerry’s in company history after acquiring Chapel Hill’s Franklin Street location.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) basketball player has always wanted to pursue entrepreneurship. So when the opportunity presented itself, he didn’t waste time using his name, image, and likeness (NIL) earnings to make history in the business world.
“I’ve always had that vision, I know the ball doesn’t juggle forever,” 21-year-old Trimble said in an interview with the Inside Carolina.
“I know that me, as a human being, I’m allowed to have many interests in life. Basketball is a thing that I crave the most. Its what I love to do, but you know, there’s things I also want to explore, and that’s the business world, that’s entrepreneurship, that’s just seeing what I can do and how successful I can be in these other fields,” he added.
The previous owner of the shop acquired by Trimble is Antonio McBroom. A 2008 UNC graduate, McBroom went from working as an employee at a Ben & Jerry’s in college to being the CEO of the only Black-owned and Black-led multi-unit franchise group of the company known as Primo Partners.
Even though McBroom and Trimble met when Trimble was in his senior year of high school, the two got close while Trimble was in his first year of college. In his sophomore year, Trimble and McBroom began having talks about entrepreneurship.
McBroom then told Trimble that he could hand off one of his stores to him, helping the North Carolina senior guard fulfill his business dreams.
On Sunday, Trimble shared on Instagram that he now owns the Ben & Jerry’s storefront on Franklin Street near the UNC campus.
“In the recent months, I have been blessed with the opportunity to fulfill one of my many dreams and aspirations of entrepreneurship. I’m extremely grateful to officially be able to say that I am now an owner of the Ben & Jerry’s store on Franklin St,” he wrote on Instagram.
“The main goal is always the main goal, but I’m excited to stamp myself in a different way at this University. I am honored to reinvest in the community that has given so much to me. Go get y’all’s Ben & Jerry’s,” he continued.
Trimble started 18 of UNC’s 34 games this season. In three seasons at Carolina, Trimble has “played 1,895 minutes shooting 210-for-475 (44.2%), including 39-for-132 (29.8%) from the perimeter. He was 176-for-237 (74.3%) from the free throw line while also scoring 635 points, grabbing 270 rebounds, handing out 97 assists, registering 65 steals, 27 blocked shots, and playing in 102 games,” according to 247sports.com.
