By Dathan Kazsuk
There is something wonderfully ridiculous—and I mean that in the best possible way—about having to find a secret code, step into a restored red London phone booth, dial your way inside, and then suddenly discover yourself inside a Prohibition-era cocktail lounge in the middle of downtown Durham.
That is the idea behind Red Phone Booth, the luxury speakeasy-style cocktail and cigar lounge opening at 125 Orange Street in downtown Durham. And yes, it sounds like the kind of place I would immediately want to check out, even if I am not exactly sure I am cool enough to be a member.
Owners Ralph Mensah and Michael Thomas are bringing the nationally known concept to North Carolina for the first time, and for them, this is not just a random nightlife investment. The two have known each other for nearly 20 years, went to school together, practiced in the area for years, and eventually found themselves circling back around a shared love for hospitality, bourbon, and the kind of bar experience that feels like it should come with a soundtrack, a password, and maybe a little trouble. “This has been in the making for quite a long time,” says Mensah.
The story really began after Thomas moved to Atlanta in 2020 and got his first taste of Red Phone Booth there. Mensah later experienced the concept himself around 2022 and immediately understood the appeal. “I sent him a text and was like, ‘Yo, I just went to the greatest bourbon bar on the planet,’” says Mensah. The response was basically “I told you so.”
From there, the idea began to take shape. Could something like this work in Durham? The answer, at least in their minds, was yes. Durham had the walkability, the restaurants, the nightlife, the history, and that slightly mischievous creative energy that makes a hidden lounge feel less like a gimmick and more like something the city might actually embrace. “We love the city from a cultural perspective,” says Thomas. “We knew that it would be very well received.”
Red Phone Booth was founded in Atlanta by Stephen de Haan, who opened the original concept in 2016 and built it around the elegance and intrigue of the 1920s Prohibition era. Since then, the brand has expanded into several major markets, including Atlanta, Nashville, Dallas, and Miami, with Durham joining the lineup as the first North Carolina location.
The Durham version will bring the recognizable Red Phone Booth formula—secret code entry, craft cocktails, premium cigars, plush leather seating, and a dim, old-world atmosphere—but Mensah and Thomas say they want this one to feel like Durham, not like a copy-and-paste lounge dropped into a historic building.
That part matters. The Orange Street location sits in a downtown district with walkability, nearby restaurants and bars, and proximity to what was once Durham’s Black Wall Street. The owners know that history is part of the story. “Ultimately, our goal is to take the concept that Stephen created when he opened up the first location in Atlanta, but to make it Durham,” says Mensah.
Inside, guests can expect rich leather, wood, brick, low lighting, and an atmosphere that makes you feel like you have stepped through a time machine. Mensah compared the feeling to the world of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, with its bootlegging, glamour, and law-bending energy from the era when America tried to ban drinking, which naturally made everyone much more interested in drinking.
For first-time visitors, the phone booth is part of the fun. Members will have app-based access through a separate entrance, while nonmembers can still visit by securing the secret code. That code might come from a member, a hotel, or certain partner restaurants. “We are not a private organization, but we are membership-driven,” said Thomas.
In other words, it is not impossible to get in. You just need to know somebody. Or stay at the right hotel. Or maybe write a very nice story about them and hope someone slides you the code once in a while. Wink wink, gentlemen.
Once inside, the focus shifts to cocktails, bourbon, whiskey, and the kind of ice that cocktail people absolutely care about. Red Phone Booth uses hand-carved, double reverse–osmosis ice, which may sound like something out of a science lab, but it matters. Large, clear cubes melt more slowly, dilute drinks less, and, in an old-fashioned, can make the difference between a proper cocktail and a sad glass of watered-down regret. “Oh, 100 percent,” says Mensah when asked if ice matters.
The drink program will lean into the brand’s classic craft cocktail foundation, but the owners also want to add local touches. They are already thinking about a Durham-specific cocktail, possibly with a hint of blue—because even inside a Red Phone Booth, you are still in Bull City territory.
Food will also follow the brand’s Italian-inspired direction, including Neapolitan pizzas, small plates, and meatballs, but the Durham location may bring in a more North Carolina flavor. The owners mention working local ingredients into the menu and giving certain dishes a regional spin, including a pork-forward take on the meatballs.
Cigars will be a major part of the experience as well. The two-floor, roughly 4,100-square-foot space will allow smoking throughout, with a walk-in humidor housing more than 200 premium cigars. For those of us who may not smoke—or may have quit and are trying not to fall off the wagon too hard—the ventilation system is designed to make the space comfortable. The system, they say, scrubs the air about every two minutes with hospital-grade technology. “We have smoking allowed throughout,” says Thomas. “We have two floors where smoking will be allowed.”
Memberships are already part of the plan, with annual tiers ranging from associate to locker, executive, and corporate levels. Founding members will get early access to events and opening incentives, but the owners are clear that nonmembers will still have ways to experience Red Phone Booth if they can get the code.
And that may be the real hook here. Durham already has great bars, restaurants, breweries, and cocktail spots. What Red Phone Booth is betting on is that people still want a little theater with their night out. They want a door that does not look like a door. They want bourbon with a story. They want cigars, leather chairs, secret codes, and the feeling that maybe, just maybe, they have slipped into somewhere they were not supposed to find.
When guests leave for the first time, the owners know exactly what they want them to feel.
“Incredible,” says Mensah. “Like an experience that there’s nothing like it in the area.”
And then, of course, they want guests to post about it, book their next visit, and think about who they are bringing back.
Which is fair. You cannot smoke all the cigars in one visit. You cannot drink all the bourbon in one night. And you certainly cannot fully appreciate a secret phone booth entrance without walking someone else up to it later and acting like you are much cooler than you actually are.
So, yes, I am excited to check it out. Member or not, I am hoping to get that secret code every now and then.
Again, wink wink.
