As the popularity of women’s sports continues to rise, fans have started looking for venues where they can watch their favorite teams. Now, sports bars dedicated to showing these events are popping up across the U.S. by popular demand, providing safe places for fans to watch the game while enjoying food and drinks in a classic sports bar atmosphere.
From international soccer matches to WNBA, NWSL, the Olympics and more, these lively locales – mostly women owned and operated – cater to fans hungry for a convivial spot to cheer for their favorite women’s sports teams. Here are six trendsetters paving the way for more to come.
The Sports Bra, Portland, Oregon
The one that started it all, The Sports Bra is owner Jenny Nguyen’s dream come true. Frustrated by the lack of bars showing women’s sports, and often feeling out of place at traditional sports bars, she decided to take matters into her own hands. With her life savings and a succesful Kickstarter campaign, The Sports Bra was not only able to open, but has actually become a profitable endeavor, with customers lining out the door for events like the NCAA basketball finals.
Mom’s Baby Back Ribs are one of the most popular food items at The Sports Bra.
Decked with sports memorabilia from teams and leagues around the country, the vibe at The Sports Bra is one of inclusion rather than exclusivity. Expect bar food like burguers and nachos, with plenty of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options, with Mom’s ribs and the tempeh Reuben sandwich among the most popular. The bar program focuses on women-owned taps and spirits, including signature cocktails made with Freeland Spirits.
“We welcome everyone! We are a bar for women’s sports NOT
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Rough and Tumble Pub, Seattle
Jen Barnes’ story is similar to Nguyen’s. She searched all over Seattle for a sports bar showing the Reign’s semifinal match in the National Women’s Soccer League playoffs, but could not find one. An avid fan who also played sports throughout her youth, she knew she had to do something to change the status quo.
Located in the historic Henry Whyte building, Rough and Tumble Pub is a convivial bar that shows all sports, with priority given to women’s matches, shown on big screens and with full sound. Here you’ll find all the local teams, from the Reign and the WNBA’s Storm to the Kraken and the Seahawks. A few pool tables provide entertainment when games are not on TV.
Filled with sports memorabilia, a couple pool tables and plenty TVs, Rough and Tumble has become a … [+]
The farm-to-table menu is eclectic, featuring a weekend brunch – the fried chicken and waffles is a must, and the Bloody Mary looks like a garden salad that will bring back the dead. For lunch and dinner there’s everything from corn riblets to bahn mi, burgers, wings, and a kids’ menu, plus craft cocktails and non-alcoholic creations, local taps and wines.
Peaches Sports Bar, Toronto, Ontario
Lifelong sports fans Veronica Sayes and Anthony Fushell named their long-awaited bar after the Rockford Peaches, the women’s professional baseball team that inspired the movie “A League of Their Own,” which in turn inspired the bar. Set in a 1950s building the bar oozes nostalgia, with a vintage vibe that makes the large space, covered in the duo’s collection of sports memorabilia, seem like a cozy neighborhood pub. A pool table and retro arcade games add even more sportsy charm.
Food and drinks at Peaches Sports Bar are not an afterthought. Elevated takes on hotdogs, nachos, and wings mirror the baseball inspiration, and are made with locally sourced ingredients. The TV screens prioritize women’s teams from the WNBA and PWHL, but Raptors and Blue Jays fans also find a friendly space to cheer for their teams, in a queer-safe environment that welcomes everyone.
A small sample of the menu favorites at Rough and Tumble Pub, a bar showing women’s sports in … [+]
Watch Me!, Long Beach, California
Jax Diener had dreamed of opening a sports bar for at least 30 years before she was finally able to do it, alongside her wife Emme Eddy, earlier this year. Filling a niche in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Orange County area, Watch Me! has become an instant hit in the L.A. women’s sports community, forging partnerships with Angel City F.C. and the L.A. Sparks even before opening, and offering a place for young athletes and fans to enjoy their favorite sports.
Hungry fans will find a chef-driven menu, with tasty items with fun baseball references; sandwiches come from the “In the Mitt” section- a vegan cauliflower burger and a breakfast burger with bacon jam stand out – while salads like a classic wedge are “On the Green.” The drink menu features lots of women-made spirits and beers, classic and craft cocktails and unique offerings like Jax’s Breakfast Shot – a shot of Jamesons with a butterscotch floater, orange juice back, and a slice of bacon.
A Bar of Their Own, Minneapolis
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A group of friends goes to a Minneapolis sports bar to watch the University of Minnesota Gophers softball team play in the national tournament. But they could not get it on any of the multiple screens, with bartenders prefering to show football reruns and even a cornhole tournament. Sports fanatic and former athlete Jillian Hiscock was not having it any longer.
A Bar Of Their Own in Minneapolis caters to a diverse crowd of sports fans, but always gives sound … [+]
She opened A Bar of Their Own hoping to create an inclusive, family-friendly space for women’s sports fans to cheer for their favorite teams, loudly and proudly. The space is simple and spacious but comfortable, filled with screens showing everything from NCAA volleyball and soccer to WNBA finals and NWSL matches.
Salads, cauliflower wings, queso burgers and even a kimchi carnitas sandwich are in the food lineup, which also includes a kid’s menu. Craft cocktails, mocktails and plenty of local seasonal beer and ciders on tap round out the beverage options.
Whiskey Girl Tavern, Chicago
Whiskey Girl Tavern is a woman-owned and operated, LGBTQ-friendly sports bar showing games from the WNBA’s Sky and the NWSL’s Red Stars, as well as local Chicago sports plus NFL Sunday Ticket. Named after owners’ Christina and Heather Roberts doggy Whiskey, the bar has a comfy neighborhood vibe with leather couches and banquettes clad in blue velvet, and an adjacent space with pool tables.
They keep the menu small but there are some real gems, like the hot honey pepperoni pizza – the most popular item – plus chicken tenders, fried pickles and other seasonal items, with everything made in house from scratch. Drinks include local taps and seasonal craft cocktails, and, of course, a whiskey flight for those so inclined.
A Bar of Their Own serves classic sports bar fare with a twist, like these cauliflower wings.
Parlor Sports, Somerville, Massachusetts
Although Parlor Sports doesn’t exclusively show women’s sports, they feature WNBA and PWHL games prominently alongside local teams like Patriots, Celtics, and Red Sox, plus Premier League and NCAA football. They are so commited to the theme that they even have TVs in the restrooms so you don’t miss a minute of the action.
Local brews on tap and cocktails are served alongside traditional sports bar fare like cheese curds, nachos, burgers and dogs. The queer-friendly bar also hosts watch parties for TV shows like The Bachelorette and House of the Dragon.