Great question! We are located at 119 Orange Street, which is the brick street next to the Chapel Hill Street parking deck. Enter through the glass doors at 119 and either take the elevator that’s straight ahead up to the 3rd floor, or take the stairs up if the spirit moves you.

When you get to the top, turn left and you’ll see our bright coral doors!

Yes, and thanks for asking! When you enter The Velvet Hippo, you are agreeing to our other House Rules as follows:

1. Everyone should be treated with respect

2. Guests must be 21+ with physical ID to enter (Not a safe place for kids, sorry! Infants in carriers allowed)

3. Absolutely no weapons allowed

4. If it’s illegal outside this bar, it’s illegal inside this bar

5. You are responsible for your own self (and your friends, if they need you!)
We are not responsible for any shenanigans you may get into while you’re here or after you go back out into the world

6. No outside food and drink allowed. Exceptions made for birthday cake; cake cutting fee applies if you need forks, plates, etc.

7. Smoking is allowed on the upper deck only

8. Tabs left open will have a 25% gratuity applied at closing time

9. Well-behaved dogs welcome on the deck 12pm-6pm Saturday & Sunday - use stairway 2 doors down!

When you start a tab with us at the bar, our credit card processor places a $40 hold on the card. It’s just a hold, and it will drop off in a day or so.

Forgot to close out? No worries, we go through and close all open tabs at the end of the night. A 25% gratuity applies.

We are dog obsessed, actually. We just have to control ourselves and play by a few rules, due to the nature of the building we’re located in.

Dogs are welcome on the upper and covered areas of the deck — just not inside (since we serve food). To access the outdoor area directly, take your pup up the stairs two doors down to the left. (if accessibility is an issue for you, just let us know and we will adjust.)

Because the rest of our the building is office space, we can’t have dogs during the work week. Our “Yappy Hours” are Saturday and Sunday from 12pm to 6pm. For everyone’s safety and comfort, we do ask that you take pups home after 6pm for everyone’s safety (dogs, darkness, and drinking are not a great mix).

Registered service animals are not subject to the restrictions above.

We are a 21+ bar, and because we have lots of bar-related hazards (glass, tipsy people, stairs, the edges of rooftops), we can’t allow kids in the bar. We do understand that new parents need a drink sometimes though, and we will make an exception for infants who are held by (or strapped onto) a parent at all times.

We are so flattered by the many, many event and reservation requests we have gotten in our first months of being open! First and foremost, we are a neighborhood bar, and it’s important that people can count on our doors to be open when they come to see us. With that in mind, we plan to do full buyouts very, very rarely. If you have a special event that you think would be just perfect in our space, email events@velvethippodurham.com.

Yes! We are able to accommodate groups, depending on the day of the week and the needs of your group. We aren’t able to reserve space for groups on Friday and Saturday nights, or when we have special events happening. Shoot an email to our Events Manager to see what we can do! Events@velvethippodurham.com

Because we are but a humble watering hole, we don’t have a reservations system and aren’t able to take reservations for groups under 20. If you have a smaller group, we’d still love to have you visit us! Feel free to give us a call before you come to see how busy it is in the bar and on the roof.

Yes! We have a lovely menu of snacks and light bites, including some vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options. Visit our Menu page for details.

Sure do! Visit our Menu page to see our selection of non-alcoholic cocktails, beers, wine, and more.

Because we offer a food menu, we can’t allow outside food. We do make an exception for birthday cakes, since we don’t serve those (and we love birthdays). If you are going to need a knife to cut it, plates to serve it, and forks to eat it, we are happy to provide for a standard $20 cake fee.

Cigarette smoking and vaping is limited to the upper deck (not in the lower covered area). Thanks for understanding!

Yes please :) We are a 21+ establishment and we ID in accordance with NC laws, which require a physical document to be present (we can’t accept a photo).

We are always taking resumes! If you have a background in high-volume bartending, barbacking, or culinary, we’d be happy to keep you in mind for our next opening. Email your resume to hello@velvethippodurham.com.

Our dress code is “come as you are!” We care a lot more about how you act than how you look, so please act cute, y’all :)