Jason Saldivar, USC Bartender

The University of Southern California has always prided itself on tradition. It would make sense then that the only on-campus bar would call itself just that, Traditions or Traddies for short. The longest tenured bartender at Traddies, Jason Saldivar, wanted to be a Trojan from the moment he stepped on campus.



"When I first got the tour on campus I was like, this feels like home," said Saldivar. "This feels like me, I want to be here for a long time."



Saldivar began working as a bartender in 2005 at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. After that he worked at a number of various bars around LA. In 2008 he was hired to work at Traddies.



"Bartending at Traddie’s is great," said Saldivar, "It’s an experience that I love man. I think it’s just awesome."



In just three years working at USC, Saldivar has seen Traddies change venues twice. It opened in the former Lower Commons in 1987 and was moved temporarily to The Lot while the new place was being constructed. The bar is now in the basement of the new Ronald Tutor Campus Center.



"I think the main thing is he brings the old tradition," said Bert Riddick who works in the ITS department at USC and has known Saldivar since he started bartending at Traddies. "I’m familiar with the old Traddie’s and he’s the only connection we have to that. Almost every night or a couple times a week you see students coming back that have graduated and they’re excited to be in a new place but they’re extra excited to see Jason because that’s their connection to their academic career."



USC alumnus Iwari DeWees agrees. "It's like I’m going home to drink when I go to Traddies," said DeWees, "You walk in, it’s a familiar face, he always gives you a warm welcome. Seeing Jason means it’s like nothing’s changed."



Because there a number of Department of Public Safety officers at Traddies, Saldivar is free to be a friend, not a cop. Sometimes he has to double as a therapist for customers.



"They’re coming into the place, they’re having a drink and they’re looking for a place where they want to get away," said Saldivar, "I just let them do that, I just let them get it off their chest, I don’t take a position on anything, I don’t judge them on what they say."



Saldivar adds that sometimes he has to cut people off, including one time on a game day.



"He came walking into the bar wasted asking me for a drink. After I served him the first drink he asked for another one. This guy's just really wasted, especially when he's taking pictures with strangers. I ended up having to cut him off. He thanked me for that while he was drunk and then came in a week later after that and he thanked me again," said Saldivar.



On top of his bartending duties, Saldivar currently takes classes at Santa Monica College. His plans for the future - transfer to USC to study business. But for now, Saldivar is having the time of his life meeting students and keeping the drinks flowing.



"I feel like not just anybody can bartend at Traddies," said Saldivar, "You really got to be connected to the students. What makes Traddies special is it’s that place where you always remember, this is where we came, this is our campus bar. And years from now they can come back and everybody still knows them and it’s still the same place and the memories are still there."



And for many USC students, that includes their favorite bartender.