Pensacola's iconic Azalea Cocktail Lounge is under new ownership. Here's what's coming:

Pensacola’s Azalea Cocktail Lounge is entering its next era under a new owner, Jeff Madsen. Former owner and past Pensacola city councilman Larry B. Johnson announced on social media he would be selling the beloved dive bar to its next steward after over 10 years.

When Johnson described his decision to move on, he compares his story to Neil Young’s “This Old Guitar” where the bar wasn’t his to keep, but only to take care of for a while.

The Z was already iconic as Pensacola’s longest standing cocktail bar, and Johnson helped preserve its memories and found ways to keep the doors open when the COVID crisis struck. Now it's time for the next person to come along and take the keys.

“I really appreciated the diversity of the bar, it was like a bar where all kinds of people came and all kinds of people are welcomed. That struck me as pretty cool,” Johnson said. “I really liked the bar, I liked the neighborhood. I liked everything about the historic, iconic bar. It’s been here forever, oldest liquor bar in the city of Pensacola, maybe anywhere in the Panhandle for that matter.”

He began putting his own touches that only added to the bar’s vintage feel, like the red lighting, bowling alley chairs and local art.

But a large part of the bar’s legacy came from the people that filled it, like now retired bartender Melba Murphy, affectionately known by regulars as “Boots,” whose story is hung on the wall for all to see. Now, modern-day bartender Tina Bailey has filled Murphy’s “boots” over the past decade, working her way into the lives of the bar’s regulars, listening intently to stories and serving cocktails usually based on vodka.

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The bar’s legacy dates over 75 years and still has a loyal group of regulars today that make up the space as barstool chatters, sports watchers, pool shooters and post-shift service industry workers looking for a space to unwind.

With each new owner, they have been careful not to make any changes that would jeopardize the bar. However, during COVID-19 and Hurricane Sally, Johnson opted to make some improvements to keep the place alive, with new carpeting, implementing a non-smoking rule, installing new local art and thrifting antique chandeliers.

Madsen said he doesn’t plan on touching anything that would alter the Z's identity, but he does plan on making some renovations in the future like a few improvements behind the bar, adding to the outdoor area and more dining options.

“We have some plans to try to optimize this place. Nothing that changes the DNA of this place,” Madsen said. “But we're looking at a bunch of stuff. We're looking at more permanent outdoor space, having a food truck area for at least a food truck to be sorted more permanently here. We're going to immediately redo the bathrooms, and that's really what's on the docket for now. Maybe some just sprucing up the inside, but nothing too drastic.”

One of the most frequently asked questions he gets is if the bar will remain non-smoking, and Madsen said he does not see that changing anytime soon.

Bailey said watching the way that the patrons come together to support one another is what makes the place so special.

Madsen said it doesn’t take long to see the sense of ownership people have when they walk through the place and the care they take for the people in it.

Johnson said that patrons will tell you stories of generations of families who will bring their children in for their first legal drink.

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Johnson said he wasn’t worried about finding a replacement when he found Masden, who shared in the appreciation of the bar and wasn’t looking to make any changes.

“It just seemed like a great fit,” Johnson said.

Whether it’s the place couples go for a cocktail in the mood light before heading downtown for a nice dinner, or the place that always welcomes you in at 2 a.m. after a bad night, it’s become an everyday staple for the people of Pensacola. Which is why it was so important to Madsen that the patrons approve of they changes they make, since they consider it home.

“What I've been spending all of my time doing, besides trying to learn what Larry has done for the last 11 years, is make sure that customers and patrons are heard before we do anything. You know, it is extremely important to us to retain the vibe of this place, and we wouldn't do anything if we got pushback from people who just placed us here,” Madsen said.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Azalea Cocktail Lounge Pensacola oldest bar gets new owner