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

Justin Hazelton, formerly of 5Church and FS Food Group, will lead the beverage program at the upcoming restaurant Leah & Louise. The eatery is owned by Greg and Subrina Collier, owners of Uptown Yolk, and will serve Collier’s take on elevated Southern cuisine in a juke joint-inspired space.

Hazelton is an early member of the Soul Food Sessions group, a collection of chefs looking to change the conversation around what a chef looks like. To prepare for the opening of Leah & Louise, which is located on Camp North End’s campus, Hazelton has been reading about the work of black bartenders during the pre-Prohibition era, such as Tom Bullock’s The Ideal Bartender.

Hazelton says he’s excited to bring awareness to the work of underrepresented voices in cocktail history.

His cocktail menu will be made up of two parts, one featuring classic pre-Prohibition cocktails. The other menu will change a few times a year, and will include Hazelton’s modern variations of the classics meant to pair with Collier’s menu. He’ll make use of the seasonal ingredients in the kitchen, too.

“Showing this area the ideas that chef and I are talking about — I get more excited every day about it,” he says. —Kristen Wile

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