Qadeem Hassan doesn’t just know how to make a good cocktail—he understands how to craft an entire experience like finding the perfect song to add to a curated playlist. This fall, Hassan and his business partner Justin Speegle are set to open Ralph’s Listening Room, Birmingham’s first listening bar, which will showcase a soulful collision of cocktails, sounds, and atmosphere.

A Tuscaloosa native, Hassan got his start in the hospitality industry as a bartender at The Levee Bar and Grill, and quickly worked his way up to Bar Manager. “That’s really when I fell in love with the craft side of cocktails,” he says. “I started building out my own cocktail menus, experimenting with infusions and syrups, and forming relationships with guests who would give me feedback. I knew then I wanted to open my own concept one day.”

Hassan’s mixology education continued at Session Cocktails, Tuscaloosa’s first cocktail bar. It was here that Hassan was able to focus full-time on his craft—not only on ingredients—but on connection with a broader understanding of what beverage hospitality could look like. “We really changed the bar culture in Tuscaloosa at Session,” he says. “We offered a true service model with servers instead of just walk-up bar orders. That was a first for the scene there, and it helped us create a VIP-style hospitality experience.”

It soon became clear to Hassan that he had a natural talent for the industry—rising from General Manager to Director of Operations–and he knew it was time to take the leap of faith. “That’s when it hit me–if I take this seriously and learn both the front and back end of the business, I can make my dream of opening my own place a reality.”

 

Community and Connection in The Magic City

Hassan and Speegle made the move to Birmingham in February 2024 in search of the opportunity to continue carving out their niche and find a space that was undeniably their own. What they found was not only a continued education in hospitality, but a commonality of space, growth, and shared community vision.

While Session gave Hassan the foundation to create a brand for himself, he honed in on a vision for his own space in The Magic City. “By June I was working at The Essential, managing the bar and getting a feel for the downtown scene,” he says. “It gave me the opportunity to build relationships with some of the people who’ve really paved the way for what’s becoming an incredible culinary and beverage scene here.”

He credits many of Birmingham’s longstanding industry giants with generously sharing their knowledge and expertise as he began branching out with pop-ups around the city. “At Adiõs, Jose [Medina Camancho] and Jesus [Mendez] really took me under their wing,” he says. “They’ve become mentors. Same with Eric Bennett at Continental Drift—he’s carved a path for a lot of people like me to do bigger and better things in Birmingham.”

The pop-ups became a playground for creativity–and a proving ground for what would eventually evolve into Ralph’s. From a French jazz and funk night at Juniper to a Brazilian-inspired experience at Tucana Tiki Bar, each event was carefully crafted with intention and atmosphere in mind.

Pop-ups gave Hassan the perfect platform to curate a complete experience around a specific vibe–a seamless, handpicked journey where the music and cocktails felt connected by an invisible thread.

“We’ve done pop-ups all over town, and each one is different depending on where we are,” he says. “At Tucana Tiki Bar, we focused on Brazilian funk. At Continental Drift, we leaned into that Saved by the Bell meets Miami Vice vibe with a ’90s playlist.”

“That’s how we’ll treat Ralph’s, too,” he adds. “We want to play music you don’t normally hear at bars–stuff that really resonates. We want every night to have its own story.”

 

Becoming Birmingham’s Hi-fi Sanctuary

The listening bar concept may be new to Birmingham, but the listening room, originally known as the jazz kissa, originated in post-war Japan as a way to temporarily escape reality. In these spaces, specialty cocktails share the stage with curated playlists on hi-fi sound systems.

“Most bars today treat music as background noise,” Hassan explains, “but a listening bar is different. It’s about people coming specifically to enjoy and celebrate music.”

And for Hassan, there was no one better to bring this listening room vision to life than Justin Speegle. From childhood friends to business partners, the two have traveled to countless concerts and festivals, which became another addition to their ever-growing listening room education. Looking back, it foreshadowed what Ralph’s would become.

When it comes to the music, Hassan says Speegle’s abilities are unmatched. “Justin has the best ear for sound I’ve ever encountered,” Hassan says. “I’m passionate about music and I can build a playlist, but he has this gift for creating a vibe.” Ralph’s is named after Speegle’s late father, who shared a passion for music and connection.

That same sense of storytelling carries into the cocktail menu, where drinks are often inspired by the music itself. One example? The Ring My Bell cocktail, named after the classic disco hit. “That drink was inspired by the song,” Hassan says. “It was a sign that this concept–blending music and cocktails–could really work.”

Ralph’s Listening Room is set to open on 2nd Avenue North this fall, where it will be a space that celebrates good sounds, good drinks, and good vibes. “At Ralph’s, we want it to feel like you’re sitting in your living room, listening to records,” Hassan says. “We’re curating something special for people who are really into sound–the audiophiles, the music lovers, people who care about what’s playing as much as what they’re sipping.”

In the meantime, you can follow Ralph’s pop-up schedule on social media here. Up next? A Latin hip-hop and house music pop-up at Adiõs on August 14th.