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Bygone Barrel of Fun A piece of Trojan history is gone – a beacon to many a former thirsty USC student. Julie’s Trojan
Barrel, a veneable USC hangout which stood for 24 years at Figueroa and 37th streets, and nearby Julie’s Restaurant, have fallen victim to the neighborhood’s changing demographics and to competition from fast-food restaurants and on-campus eateries. At different times, both establishments were owned and operated by Julie Kohl.
The establishments may be gone, but their proprietress is not. If the Trojan Barrel had not been losing money for years, and if her health were better, the 96-year-old Kohl would still be there, chatting up her patrons and instructing her employees on the right way to serve customers. “I enjoyed meeting people, seeing people,” she says. “The Trojan Barrel slogan – ‘Where old and new friends meet’ – was right on the menu.”
Kohl’s friends are legion. She has known every USC athletic coach since 1941, when she opened Julie’s Restaurant on Flower Street (baseball legend Rod Dedeaux remains one of her favorites). Trojan Band Director Art Bartner and his staff were Barrel regulars, and City Council President John Ferraro, a former USC gridiron star, used to drop by. Current and former USC athletes would come by to say hello and autograph the sports-themed murals painted on the walls by USC art students.
Julie at Julie's
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BORN AND RAISED in Los Angeles, Kohl is the daughter of French immigrants. Her father, Casimir Mazet, owned a French bakery. She learned to make a French dip sandwich form her father’s friend Philippe Matthieu, owner of the historic downtown eatery. Kohl bought Julie’s Restaurant in 1941. Soon she was presiding over a bustling business famous for its outdoor tables set around a swimming pool.
She sold the restaurant in 1975 and quickly opened Julie’s Trojan Barrel a block away, sprucing up what had been a hamburger joint and transforming it into a mecca for Trojan sports fans.
Kohl supported USC athletics and the marching band both monetarily and in spirit. In 1994, she donated more than $100,000 as “seed money” to provide a much-needed home for the band. The new facility in the basement of Stonier Hall was named in her honor.
Recently slowed by a mild stroke, Kohl still attends home football games in her wheelchair. Inducted into the Trojan Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995, she annually receives a new, regulation football jersey with her age in giant numbers on front and back from the athletic department. Jersey “97” is currently on order.
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