And why you should open a portal of your own.

The Portal HQ is a venue–and don’t ask what kind of venue, because there isn’t really a straight answer for that. The space is situated on the iconic Hillsborough Street in Raleigh, comfortably nestled between Meredith and NC State campuses.

“I wouldn’t choose another spot,” says co-founder Jake Berlin. “I’ve always loved Hillsborough Street and seen so much potential. I was like, ‘We don’t need another vape shop or hundred-dollar restaurant.’ We found this space and people were telling us that we couldn’t afford it. We didn’t care. We were stuck on the idea.”

Jake runs the venue alongside his partner Will Acosta, who formerly ran an earlier version of The Portal situated in a different location on Hillsborough Street. “It was much smaller and more intimate,” Jake says. “I told Will, ‘Let’s make it The Portal HQ where different portals come together. It wouldn’t just be our personal ideas…”

“…It would be a world where anyone can do anything.”

Photos by Ziggy Pineda (@ziggypineda)

The Portal is a place where dreams are made as much a place where they come true. “If you can think of it, we want you to be able to make it here,” Jake says.

“We’re sitting in the Underdeveloped Lab,” Jake says of the interview space. The walls of the brick-and-mortar are lined with art while the floors are home to industrial printers and sewing machines waiting to be used. “We want every wall to be filled with something that people can explore other’s creative portals with, and then we want them to come here and explore their own creative portals in return.”

“We have a tattoo artist named Caro who runs Nova Studio,” says Jake. “What’s the craziest art you can get in a creative space? It’s permanent art on your skin.” He explains that the branding is aimed at creating an extended Portal universe. “There’s also Starborn Studio which is a recording studio ran by the producer Joel Venom,” he says. You can literally go in there, and a star is born.”

The first time going to The Portal HQ is always a memorable experience for everyone. I recall meeting a fashion designer who was working on a straitjacket inspired top in the middle of an EDM rave as if nothing was happening around him. There was another time that I peeked into Nova Studio and stumbled across a random friend being tattooed on the chair (Shoutout KATA).

Photos by Isaiah Pate (@isaiahpate)

“We’re for the community,” Jake says. “We don’t do this for money, and we would have the events for free if we could. We’ve had over a hundred events since we’ve opened, and a lot of these events are people’s first time ever having an event. We try to make sure everything is super accessible, and the community sees that.”

Jake speaks very optimistically about the organizers who make The Portal HQ a home for their events. “You can see the passion in their eyes,” he says. “Raleigh Maison wanted to build a cage for their rave, so we gave them a key and let them stay overnight to build it. There aren’t any other venues doing stuff like that.”

The Portal HQ is fresh and enthusiastic. The venue excels where other established venues have fallen short in recent years. “People are always going to these venues regardless, so they don’t have to try anymore,” Jake says. “We’re always pushing ourselves and upgrading because that’s what sets us apart.” When’s the last time you went to your favorite music venue, and they opened up a whole tattoo studio?

“We have open mics every Wednesday, but we use full lighting and sound production, so it feels like an actual concert instead of two people with a guitar,” Jake says. “Every other week we have open jam sessions where we provide the instruments. We do a lot of different genres like Reggae, Hip-Hop, R&B and EDM.” The Portal HQ even hosts events like fashion shows, pop-up markets, and comedy open mics. “We do a little bit of everything,” Jake says. “I didn’t think there was anything else we could do, but now we’re about to start doing even more.”

Photo by Ziggy Pineda (@ziggypineda)

“If we can do it, anyone can do it,” Jake says. He explains that they keep their business plan sitting outside on their front counter at all times to encourage others to do the same. “I want people to open spaces like this because it’s so needed now,” he says. “We’re just passionate about people letting their creativity loose.”

“I want to have a Portal for every single college campus,” Jake says. “I want it to be run by the creatives that live there.” The ambition of the Portal team is clear, and they are certain that Raleigh will always be the HQ. “People say Raleigh is about to explode, but it’s been exploding for years with creativity. Everyone’s from Raleigh and it’s only going to keep blowing up, we’re just glad to be a part of it.”

“We’re looking to expand into the space next door,” Jake says. “That will open up even more events and community-driven things. We’re busy people, but we’re always down to offer opportunities to anyone who wants to create something cool.”

“Come use the space and meet the people and just enjoy doing it!”