Nine Whoa!

Legions of USC alumni are in for a shock when they come to campus on Saturday for the opening game.

Don't worry, it won't be caused by 45-point underdog Idaho.

The 901 Bar and Grill, formerly the 901 Club and best known as the Nine-Oh, has undergone jaw-dropping renovations. For years, it was considered a bad dive bar -- the type that violated all five of your senses.

But patrons were fiercely loyal, and like it or not, the 9-0 remained an icon of USC student life. With limited hours at university-run Traditions, a beer-and-wine-only liquor license at 29th Street Cafe, and the closure of Julie's Trojan Barrel many years ago, the 9-0 has been the only legitimate bar at USC for at least a decade.

All that "dedication" is now being paid back. It's still the kind of place where you can rub elbows with (potential) Heisman winners, but now you don't need to hit the showers afterwards. Recent alumni are guaranteed to be impressed.

Besides the physical improvements, the 9-0 has opened up its kitchen and extended its hours. People can come in for lunch at 11:30 a.m. and can stay until they get kicked out after last call (around 1:30 a.m.). The kitchen currently closes at 10 p.m., but owners are planning on extending hours until 2 a.m.

The changes are a dream-come-true for Leo Amari, Johnny Liska, Alex Manos and Roger Toussaint. The four recently became business partners with the existing owners (who also own the Trocadero and Cabo Cantina). They had worked at the 9-0 since shortly after the place was purchased in 1996.

Toussaint was the man behind the new design and is responsible for a long list of improvements.

• Ceilings have been raised from 9 to 35 feet, keeping the bar cooler and ventilated.
• A new air-conditioning unit was installed. The old one hadn't worked for several decades.
• The floor is now coated to help prevent the ever-mysterious 9-0 sludge. The floors used to be unfinished cement.
• Four windows have been uncovered, allowing more light into the bar. The original ones had been boarded up for an unknown period, but cleanup crews found newspapers used to cover the glass that dated back to 1942.
• Nine 50" plasma TVs are hanging around the main room. Besides carrying all the USC games (they'll be holding alumni events when USC is away), they have Sunday Ticket for your NFL-watching pleasure.
• The bar was replaced (it's narrower, but feels about the same) as well as the booths. The redesign eliminated the curved booths, installing one long bench along the side wall. The owners made sure to keep the elevated back so that patrons can sit above the crowd and check out the scene.
• As part of the bar rebuild, they got help from Beauchamp (a Miller distributor) to go from three beers on tap to 12.
• The old beat-up jukebox was replaced by a new system with eight speakers, two sub-woofers, and millions of songs on the playlist.

The bar is named after its original location at 901 West Jefferson, where it was established in 1947. In the early 1960s the bar relocated to a building at 2902 Figueroa (where it stands today).

Jade Earlabaugh (USC '94) walked in and was impressed with the changes. He remembered the place bringing everybody together, but also recalled "the sludge between your toes and the smell. The bathrooms weren't too good, either." Looking around, he went on, "I like it. It looks good."

In June 2002, the 9-0 was Playboy's college bar of the month. The review said the place "looks, sounds and, yes, smells like your classic college dive." Even in giving high praise, Playboy didn't miss "the club's beer-coated cement floors" and quoted a student saying, "The floor is usually sticky and it's dark, but there are always lots of good-looking people having a good time here."

The owners seemed to observe the same things. "USC is one of the hottest schools in the nation. It should have one of the hottest bars," explained Liska. Amari got a little more specific, adding that "the best girls" are at USC.

Amari also recalled a story of a business executive flying clients to a USC football game and taking them by the 9-0. They weren't impressed. "The future leaders of the country ... they used to have a dive bar."

Now that the improvements are done, Amari was able to laugh about how it used to be. "It was legitimate sludge."

Liska concurred, "It went 3-4 feet deep!"

Now, the floors are on par with other places you see around town. The bathrooms are still bar bathrooms. But they're not the old 9-0 bathrooms.

With a cleaned up-establishment, there should be less hesitation to try the food. The pizza is the same kind made by partner restaurant Rocco's Pizza. They've won the best pizza award for five years straight at the Feast of San Gennaro. The kitchen also boasts a 9-0 burger (the bar's original recipe is so old that Amari says they "could barely read it") and typical fare like hot wings and cheesesteaks.

So what's the same? College students still flock to the bar. Drink specials haven't changed either, including pint night on Tuesday and Jack-n-Coke night on Wednesday. Additional specials were added, namely a happy hour with two-for-the-ones being offered from 4-8 p.m. daily.

Asked if any more changes were in store, Liska pointed to the new rafters.

"We're putting a Bruin bear on a noose."

Comments

[Ramona Young]

Why do you print a link to the 901 that takes us to a private My Space page? Lame.

[Bill Baldwin, Jr.]

The last time I was in the 901 Club, it was just prior to my German Cultural History Final, January 1967. The place was at the original location and I powered down a couple of Skips and then went and aced the exam. It looked then like it did the first night I went there in the fall of 1963: sawdust on the floor, ropes near the ceiling caked with years of dirt and grime. God, I loved that place. Every time I drive by the "new" location on Figueroa I almost stop and go in. Haven't yet, but glad to see the 9-0 is still a part of USC.
Bill Baldwin, Jr.
Class of 1967

P.S. For you non-Trojans, a "Skip" is a drink that can literally change lives forever and the full name is Skip and Go Naked, but no real USC student/grad/friend of would ever be caught using the full title. That would be so Bruin.

[JC]

I'm not a USC student, grad or fan, but I am at the game and I'm now interested in checking out the nine-oh. But I think I'll skip the "Skip."

[Jackie]

Just got back from the Nine-Whoa! and it rocked!!! Its all that this article says and more!! Great improvements, friendly staff and owners, and best of all....GREAT FOOD! I give it two thumbs up and I will be there every game day FO SURE!!! Go check it out!!!

[Adam Rose]

Ramona -- I think it makes sense since so many people online have Myspace accounts. In the future, do you suggest having it say "The 901 Bar and Grill [click here for Myspace profile]" or something else?

Also, people on Myspace can find the All Things Trojan profile here:

http://www.myspace.com/allthingstrojan

It's not much to look at (yet), but will allow you to stay in the loop via bulletin when something breaks on this blog.

[Jen Vitela]

come on, guys...the sludge was part of its charm! bring back the old 9-0!!! not everything is better with 50" plasma screens.

[Devin Hornick]

I worked at the 9.0 from 1997-1999 on Monday nights mostly, and if I'm not mistaken I used to bartend with both Leo and Johnny. The place looks incredible compared to the days of old, though I will miss the dark, dankness of the old 9-0. Congrats you guys!!
Devo

[SUCsucks]

Go ahead and put your Bruin Bear on a noose you classless losers... Ahaahahahhahahahhahahahahahah, too bad you cant clean up the dump surrounding the bar. You could put gold plated walls in the 9 hole and you'd still be at risk of a drive by shooting.

[ALEX BOTTOM]

Well, nothing can stay the same... RIP old Nine-Oh! There is now a crosswalk too... part of the mystique was car dodging-jaywalking, cutting in line and hoisting a few in the dark.

[Teri Buhl]

I remember the dungy bar with one TV that we'd stand in line forever for but loved the old school feeling once we me made it inside. First kisses can always be found waiting in line for the restroom and the 9-0 new or old will always rock.
Class of 94'

[Norman Price]

Here's to you Mr. Sullivian......thanks for the great conversation and beers just before your 8:00 AM Spanish class....your were the best and thanks for teaching me to drink.....I loved every minute of it.......1958

[Harman]

OPEN LETTER to SUCsucks:
First of all, you couldn't even get the letters in correct order. Come on now...we'll do it together. U....S....C. Is it really that difficult? Maybe it is since you’re clearly a bruin.
Secondly, in response to our gold-plated 9-0 and the dump that calls USC home; Maloney's in Westwood was SOOOO RAAAAD! You must have been one of the many losers who sat in the corner of your mahogany-laden bar, who never got any bruin ass and thus dreamed of a good little Trojan girl to give you the time of day. So sad. Jealous much?
Signed, 9-0 fan for life.

[Randy]

I remember walking past the old 9-O on November 22, 1969, with my best bud on the way to the UCLA game in the Coloseum. Deciding to stop for a skip (it was hot that day) we never made it out of that dark cool dusty messy greasy hole watching the Trojans beat the Bruins on the one 24" TV over the back bar. Sort of sad in a way that change happens but I am now encouraged to revisit the new 9-O.

[jayson]

the new place rocks, can't wait to beat up the bruins and party our a---- off at the 9-0 in early december....

[Mark]

I graduated from SC in 2004 and i havent been back since 05. The new place looks cool, but im sorry nothing beats hooking up with the hottest chicks in the old basement style bar. Nothing like bringing a chick back to your place and the first thing you have to do is wash your feet. hahahaha Fight On!

[Michael]

Do they still serve a drink called a Prairie Dog? I think it had tabasco sauce in it. I will miss the stench, the sticky floors and my beer googles.