If you’ve recently visited a few Charlotte area farmers markets, then you may have seen The Jugo Man serving up fresh, handmade, and innovative juice concoctions. Even if you haven’t laid eyes on William Fulton himself, you’ve more than likely seen — or tasted — at least one of 43 flavors of juice from The Jugo Bar. Fulton is the brand’s founder and mastermind behind every flavor. With expansions to both Raleigh and Charlotte, The Jugo (Spanish for juice) Bar — which started in the Winston-Salem native’s hometown — is experiencing tremendous growth since its official start more than two and a half years ago. 

Now, more growth is on its way. Starting August 12, fans of Fulton’s juices will have access to The Jugo Bar experience at The Jugo Bar Tasting Room in NoDa. 

“My product is six times over what I made the year before just by coming to Charlotte,” he says. “I’m excited about the growth and to be in NoDa where people can come and get their juices throughout the week.”

While The Jugo Bar is keeping Fulton busy, the brand has come a long way in a short amount of time. The idea for the concept arrived five years ago when Fulton purchased Minute Maid watermelon juice for his grandson. After examining the ingredients on the label, tasting, and smelling the juice, he realized it lacked the watermelon taste. This led him to the kitchen. 

“The first juice I made was a fresh watermelon juice,” he says. “I made it for cookouts and events and everybody was requesting it, which inspired me to create more than 40 juices.” 

Another source of inspiration came from Fulton’s international adventures to places like Italy, Spain, North Africa, France, and Thailand. His experiences living abroad highlighted disparities within his own community. 

“We were getting fresh things all the time from the market,” he says. “Then, when I came back home, I saw everything with preservatives, fructose syrup, and all these bad things. I wanted to create something a little different.”  

What sets Fulton’s creations apart is that they’re fresh, made with whole fruits and vegetables, and includes ingredients that provide additional benefits, such as ginger for zinc and turmeric for inflammation. No junk, just juice, he says. For him, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, which is why he also customizes juices for his clients. 

“I take the time to get to know my customers and what they can and what they can’t have,” he says. “I learn their allergens, keep a chart, and create their juices that way.” 

This intentionality, care, and concern stems from Fulton’s life experiences. Growing up in what he calls the Kool-Aid generation, Fulton didn’t have access to fresh fruits and juices because his family couldn’t afford it, he said. 

“I wanted to make a juice that would be accessible to our community, that was fresh, and that didn’t contain preservatives that our bodies can’t digest,” he said. “So these are all fresh and all made in a raw form with whole foods, using the skin and everything to make the juice. It’s very important that we are digesting things that we can actually digest and that we get nutritional benefits.” 

Since arriving in Charlotte, the response from the community has been overwhelming — in a good way. With more than 40 flavors on the menu, the most popular juices are Blackberry Sage, Pineapple Jalapeno Cilantro, and 24K — carrots, orange, ginger, and tumeric. 

“It’s been mind-blowing the response from the customers tasting the juice,” he says. “A lot of customers have let me know that they felt like it was the first time they’ve ever tasted juice. That right there alone makes me tear up, to say they never ever tasted juice until they tried my juice.”

With plans for the new location to eventually include a new plant-based menu and infused beverages, it looks like there’s no slowing down for Fulton and The Jugo Bar. The sky’s the limit, he said. 

“I’m excited to be able to do the plant-based food component of The Jugo Bar that’s coming soon as well as the infusions part, the actual Jugo Bar where you can come and get a plant-based night out with adult beverages,” Fulton says. “I’m excited about the future in Charlotte and The Jugo Bar.”

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