Every Wednesday night, USC seniors make a pilgrimage to the local pub Rock & Reilly’s, located in the USC Village. This has, over years, expanded to become a student tradition that regularly leaves some students waiting in line for hours every week.
“Even if I just want to go and see my friends for a quick 30- minute thing, I’m stuck in line for 30-minutes to [one] hour, which really kind of hinders the whole night,” said Shrinivas Deolalikar, a USC junior studying business administration.
Rock & Reilly’s latest promotion may help mitigate that issue. The popular watering hole announced that it is offering exclusive membership packages for a limited time. The three tiers range in price from $39 to $59 a month, and can be purchased by all students.
The first tier, “The Misfit,” allows members priority seating, as well as a pass to the front of the line for themselves and five guests.
The second tier, “The Black Eye Burger Society,” provides members with a burger or chicken sandwich with fries once a week.
The third tier, “The Whole Village Package,” includes both perks from the lower two tiers.
“If I can split the cost between my friends,” said Deolalikar. “Then that’s definitely something I’d buy.”
“I’m gagged,” reacted junior business administration Diego Zepeda. “I know that [Rock & Reilly’s] became a trend recently, and I always hate the lines, so I feel like that’s a great deal.”
Senior health promotion and disease prevention student Alexander Gramajo agreed.
“Being able to skip the line and bring five people with you, yeah that’s an awesome deal,” he said.
Others, like senior cognitive science student Emaan Khan, said the membership’s perks weren’t worth the price.
“I would never buy the pass, it’s not worth it for [Rock & Reilly’s],” Khan said. “Just let more people in.”
Memberships will be sold until April 7 or when they sell out, whichever comes first.
Deolalikar anticipates the latter, saying the iconic bar holds sentimental value for graduating Trojans. .
“For upperclassmen … especially in spring, it’s your last semester in college,” said Deolalikar. “So seeing everybody in your grade, getting to catch up with your friends, the environment’s good — you get to know the bartenders [and] the people who work there.”
It was not immediately clear how many memberships were sold at the time of this piece’s publication.
Rock & Reilly’s declined Annenberg Media’s request for comment.