With the Locals Only Passport, every dollar spent stays in South Central LA

For decades, coupons have served as an essential tool for stretching grocery budgets, especially in low-income communities. For many, fast-food coupons shaped childhoods by providing affordable meals during times of financial constraint. 

Today, in South Central L.A. — one of the most food-insecure but culturally rich neighborhoods in L.A. — a group of local artists and creators has reinvented coupons, but not for big food corporations; for small local businesses and mom-and-pop shops. 

The coupon book titled the Locals Only Passport, created in partnership with Vendor Maps and South Central Clips, provides exclusive discounts or freebies for 16 participating local businesses offering an array of local delicacies from coffee and birria to crepes and tamales, among other things. The passport even has discounts at local skate and sport stores.

“I think [many] of us all grew up on coupons and getting coupons in the mail; many of us still use coupons today. [The Locals Only Passport] is a reinvention of that,” Erick Solis, co-founder of South Central Clips, told CALÓ News. 

More than a coupon booklet, the Locals Only Passport looks to help small businesses attract more customers and gain more local visibility and foot traffic and encourage community members to explore and rediscover hidden gems in South Central L.A. 

“A lot of these businesses benefit from more walk and bike traffic, and we're not seeing a lot of that right now because most people are driving or they're just working so many hours [that] they don't have the time to explore the neighborhoods more. This is a new step towards a new way of marketing that can coexist in a community and be accessible for a lot of people,” Solis said. 

The Locals Only Passport can be purchased online or at participating locations. The $15 passport can be used at any participating local business to unlock exclusive discounts.

The one-time purchase passport contains a physical map that indicates where the different businesses are located and a one-pager explaining each business, their hours of operation and the exclusive deals that can be redeemed. 

The passport came together through the work of Patricia Amador, creator of Vendor Maps, a community-powered digital map featuring street vendors, and South Central Clips, the creative duo composed of Solis and Marvin Valencia. 

Through South Central Clips, Solis and Valencia have been documenting historical corridors and featuring small businesses in South Central L.A., while Amador has been creating a digital directory for small businesses and street vendors.

The passport, which was released to the public on June 8, has been in the works since early April. Since then, Amador, Solis and Valencia have created about a dozen prototypes and visited print shops a handful of times. 

Amador said the partnership came quite naturally, given her expertise in graphic design and the networks of small businesses of Solis and Valencia. 

“I’m really grateful for the collaboration not only because of what we created but also because they have been mentors to me,” Amador said.

Amador is behind much of the passport's design, as well as the interactive online map that shows people where each business is located.

Bringing back physical media has been an intentional choice rooted in a desire for genuine ownership and creating a physical coupon book that is tangible, she said.

“A lot of these are just like mom-and-pop shops, so they're not really used to using digital online services, [but] everyone knows how to use a discount book from back in the day [and] it's also a way to bring back physical media overall,” Amador said. 

The 16 businesses featured in the passport were chosen intentionally. Valencia said many of the businesses in the passport have strong ties to their community, not only offering their services or items for sale but also serving as a third space for community members. 

"The passport is a way to rediscover South Central, because we all drive by these restaurants or walk by these restaurants, but we never really stop. This will give people the chance to stop in with an incentive and learn more about these businesses that we already have here,” Valencia said. 

In the last couple of years, South Central Clips has also created feature videos for participating businesses, documenting and highlighting each business's history and the services they provide. 

“Over the past two years, we've been documenting South Central businesses and local creatives. These businesses [in the passport] we've already documented. It was a lot easier to reconnect with them. They were businesses that we built a connection with,” Valencia said. 

Solis said the document and the passport both serve as marketing tools for the business, especially for many who do not have a big social media presence or enough time or funds for marketing and advertising. 

"I think sometimes for these businesses that are barely surviving, marketing can be seen as a luxury. [Amador] is bridging that gap for them, just finding new and creative ways to market these businesses without thinking about high costs,” Solis said. 

The passport was officially released to the public the same week the 2026 FIFA World Cup began. L.A. will host eight matches at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. Solis said the passport aims to channel targeted economic support to participating businesses and to ensure local shops benefit from the tourism that the massive global sporting event can bring. 

Vendor Maps and South Central Clips expect to make more passports in the near future, featuring a new set of local businesses in South Central L.A. 

To see the full list of the participating businesses and to purchase a Locals Only Passport, visit www.sclaclips.com/locals-only-passport.