by Kristen Wile

Justin Hazelton pours cocktails during a Soul Food Sessions dinner. Photo by Peter Taylor/Peter Taylor Photography.

Mixologist Justin Hazelton will debut his upcoming cocktail bar, Lorem Ipsum, in Plaza Midwood in October. The craft bar will kick off a residency at The Bar at Refuge, a microhotel that has welcomed mixologists to take over the space as they look to grow their concept. The Royal Tot, which recently reopened under new owners, and Andy Schools’ and Larry Suggs’ Humbug, now open in Villa Heights, are among the bars that have previously operated out of the space.

Hazelton selected the name Lorem Ipsum because, to him, it’s not the name of the bar that matters — it’s the experience guests will find there. The words “lorem ipsum” are part of traditional placeholder text in design. Lorem Ipsum will draw inspiration from Japanese jazz kissas, bars that became popular in the 1920s and celebrated jazz music and cocktails. Hazelton’s own background reflects this combination; before his career path led him into mixology, he was a DJ in Charlotte who went under the name DJ J Plus. He calls Lorem Ipsum a “listening bar.”

“We’re going to not just have vinyl records; we’re going to have a vinyl, of course, and we’re going to have some digital music mediums as well in there with great sound quality and want to get a lot of the sound people, audiophiles, and cocktail enthusiasts in there,” Hazelton says.

Drawing on that Japanese tie, a number of the cocktails on the menu will be made using over-steeped tea syrups, though he expects the Lipsum Highball to be the menu’s most popular cocktail. He also plans to extend hours earlier in the day to eventually include tea and coffee service. Hazelton says that he’s currently speaking with local bakers to provide pastries to pair with coffee and tea service.

He expects his pop-up to last until the spring. From there, he hopes to follow in Humbug’s footsteps and move into a standalone space.

“We want to spring directly into a bigger permanent home,” Hazelton says. He hopes to launch the pop-up Lorem Ipsum in early October. Follow the bar on Instagram for opening announcements.