SF’s first women’s sports bar set to open this week
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
First women’s sports bar in San Francisco opens this week
Rikki’s on Market Street will officially open its doors on Wednesday. The bar’s name honors the late Rikki Streicher.
Rikki’s on Market Street will officially open its doors on Wednesday.
Watch NBC Bay Area News free wherever you are WATCH HERE WATCH HERE
The restaurant and bar owners said they decided to open the first-of-its-kind bar in San Francisco out of frustration. They said they couldn’t find any bars that would play professional women’s soccer or basketball games.
The bar’s name honors the late Rikki Streicher. She was a community activist and leader in San Francisco’s LGBTQ movement in the 1960s. She also co-founded the Federation of Gay Games in 1982.
Definitive Guide To Every Women’s Sports Bar In America
There are 13 bars that exclusively or nearly exclusively showcase women’s sports. The Sports Bra in Portland became the first when it opened its doors in April 2022. More than 175 WNBA games will be televised nationally on ABC, ESPN, ION, Prime Video, CBS, CBS Sports Network and NBA TV this season. The bars have expanded beyond traditional women’s sports hotbeds and LGBTQ-friendly areas and into areas that might surprise, such as Texas, Nebraska, Iowa and Ohio. But the very thing that made women s sports bars possible—coverage—remains its biggest challenge, owners say.“We are having the hardest time [getting] all the games,” says Kat Moore, co-owner of Title 9 in Phoenix. “We always wanted a spot to watch sports and have a nice cocktail and find it really could never find it,’’ says Heather Roberts, owner of The Girl Whiskey Girl Tavern in Chicago. ”Not all of the bars’ sports show only women.’
Hiscock has been on the phone the last several minutes trying to get permission to stream an event. Once she is finished with a reporter, she has another call to make—to talk with people from a company that is helping a women’s sports bar get off the ground in Des Moines, Iowa about audio-video setups.
Kelly Hagenson A Bar of Their Own Sophia Hantzes A Bar of Their Own owner Jillian Hiscock.
“I think it’s part of my job, honestly, to help continue to grow this movement and help make other women successful,” Hiscock says. “I know it’s challenging, but I had a lot of help, and insight and support … from Jenny Nguyen and Jen Barnes, and I want to continue to pay that forward in this process.”
Nguyen and Barnes, from Portland and Seattle, respectively, are two of the nation’s first owners of bars that almost exclusively televise women’s sport. The Sports Bra in Portland became the first when it opened its doors in April 2022. Rough & Tumble followed suit eight months later, just 180 miles to the north.
Today, there are 13 bars that exclusively or nearly exclusively showcase women’s sports, with three more set to open this summer. A handful of others are in the later stages of finding appropriate brick-and-mortar venues and crowdsourcing.
The bars have expanded beyond traditional women’s sports hotbeds and LGBTQ-friendly areas and into areas that might surprise, such as Texas, Nebraska, Iowa and Ohio. The Sports Bra recently announced it will be the first to franchise nationwide, opening four new locations in partnership with Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, primarily in markets that do not already have thriving independent spots.
The audience for women’s sports has exploded since Nguyen, the unofficial oracle of bars for women’s sports, opened the Bra.
The Sports Bra Jenny Nguyen The Sports Bra The Sports Bra
The first nationally televised game of the WNBA season—a preseason contest featuring Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever and the Brazilian National Team—averaged 1.3 million viewers. Opening weekend gave ESPN its most-watched game ever to the tune of 2.7 million viewers when the Fever hosted Angel Reese’s Chicago Sky. More than 175 WNBA games will be televised nationally on ABC, ESPN, ION, Prime Video, CBS, CBS Sports Network and NBA TV this season.
The NCAA Division I softball postseason, which began in mid-May and will culminate in the Women’s College World Series from May 29 to June 6, has seen extensive growth across ESPN’s channels. Last season, the Series final between Texas and Oklahoma drew 2 million viewers, delivering the most-watched WCWS Finals on record with a TV audience up 24 percent from 2023.
But the very thing that made women’s sports bars possible—coverage—remains its biggest challenge, owners say.
“We are having the hardest time [getting] all the games. There is still not enough women’s sports on TV,” says Kat Moore, co-owner of Title 9 in Phoenix.
It’s a universal problem as the owners look for content to fill their screens.
Hiscock said A Bar of Their Own regularly subscribes to 18 streaming platforms, but also has several individual event subscriptions—for example, to show the NCAA Division III women’s ultimate frisbee championships, in which local programs Carleton College and St. Olaf College recently competed.
“For so many of these services, you can buy the event package, but they are intended for personal use, so we have to contact the service to make sure we have permission to show their content in a commercial setting. That’s another aspect men’s sports bars don’t have to deal with,” she says.
Not all of the bars show only women’s sports. At Chicago’s Whiskey Girl Tavern, for example, men’s sports can be seen. The priority of the LGBTQ-friendly space in the Edgewater neighborhood is to air women’s sports, however.
“We always wanted a spot to watch sports and have a nice cocktail and could never really find it,” co-owner Heather Roberts told Block Club Chicago when Whiskey Girl opened in 2022. “We built a place we would want to go.”
Courtesy of Whiskey Girl Tavern Whiskey Girl Tavern during the Olympics.
The bars each have their own feel and mission, as well.
Watch Me! Sports Bar in Long Beach, California has become an event space where former U.S. Women’s National Team soccer stars Tobin Heath and Christen Press recorded an episode of their podcast, The Re—Cap Show. The real Billie Jean King made a visit in April, too.
Drawdown Brewing in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston is a woman-owned brewery with a focus, naturally, on beer. However, it is also a venue where one can find all of Boston’s professional women’s sports teams—including the PWHL’s Fleet and Women’s Elite Rugby Banshees—on the screens.
Amy Cooper has been staging watch parties and fine-tuning the concept for Raise the Bar in Columbus, Ohio, which will be the site of the NCAA Women’s Final Four in 2027. Cooper says advice from Hiscock has led her to be patient in her approach to securing a building lease so that her bar has ample room to grow and to connect to the community.
“Even though we don’t yet have a WNBA or NWSL team, the city is committed to making itself a women’s sports hub and, with that growing momentum, I don’t doubt that there will be a team here, and Raise the Bar will be here ahead of time,” Cooper says.
Athena Keke’s will open in Brooklyn later this summer under long-time service industry employees Claudia Capriles and Alexandra Murray, who have also leaned on the women’s sports bar veterans.
“We are a part of a couple Slack groups and group chats [and] are talking to all of the women’s sports bar owners across the country,” Capriles said. “It’s great because we’ve built this community around women’s sports bars.”
Every Women’s Sports Bar, State By State
ARIZONA
Title 9 Sports Grill
4221 N 7th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85013
title9sportsgrill.com | @title9sportsgrill
Title 9 Sports Grill
Long-time Boycott Bar owner Audrey Corley teamed up with Kat and Brad Moore of Short Leash Hot Dogs + Taproom to create a well lit, festive joint with plenty of screens in Short Leash’s former home. Corley focuses on the bar operations and sports, while Kat’s jam is the food and events. Committed to the community of the Melrose neighborhood, Title 9 has hosted “happy hours” for kids, book signings and special guests. Corley says she’s still waiting for Diana Taurasi to show up!
CALIFORNIA
Watch Me! Sports Bar
6527 E Pacific Coast Hwy, Long Beach, CA 90803
@watchme_sportsbar
Kaitlyn Laabs, courtesy of Glass Ceiling Films
Long Beach has a raucous queer community, and this bar is for the sports-loving queers. The spot apparently crushed Long Beach Pride this May. It has a dog-friendly patio, a festive, semi-circular bar and lots and lots of TVs. It is big enough for screenings, podcast tapings (LA Sparks Weekly, The Re—Cap Show, etc.) and some amazing guests. There is a lot going on at the sleek, bright Watch Me! Sports Bar and it all looks good.
COLORADO
The 99ers Sports Bar
909 E Colfax Ave., Denver, CO 80218
the99erssportsbar.com | @the99erssportsbar
The 99ers Sports Bar
An ode to the 1999 USWNT team, The 99ers Sports Bar is a traditional bar in a narrow space with some booths, high-tops tables, a few TVs and framed jerseys. Like several of its sister bars, 99ers started a year before opening with a Kickstarter campaign and a dream. Today, Denver is preparing to welcome an NWSL team in 2026, and celebrates the Bandits of the WNFC pro football league and University of Denver athletics. It is also a place that isn’t avoiding politics—Mayor Mike Johnson was slinging drinks behind the bar earlier this May!
ILLINOIS
Whiskey Girl Tavern
6318 N Clark St., Chicago, IL 60660
whiskeygirltavern.com | @whiskeygirltavern
Whiskey Girl Tavern
Named after the owners’ dog, Whiskey, WGT doesn’t exclusively air women’s sports. It is more of a traditional sports bar that showcases women athletes. That doesn’t mean it skimps. This spring, for example, the place was abuzz over the start of women’s 3-on-3 basketball league Unrivaled and aired every contest. It hosts live music, comedy shows and touts a not-surprisingly solid whiskey list.
MASSACHUSETTS
Drawdown Brewing
3204 Washington St., Boston, MA 02130
drawdownbrewing.com | @drawdownbrewing
Liz Nicol
At Drawdown Brewing in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood, you might not even realize it is a women’s sports bar. Its primary focus is on its beer. But it also happens to be one of the only places in the Northeast where one can watch all of New England’s professional women’s sports teams and local women’s college sports. Also, Fridays are for RuPaul’s Drag Race.
MINNESOTA
A Bar Of Their Own
2207 E Franklin Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55404
abaroftheirown.com | @abaroftheirown
Kelly Hagenson
With a huge dining room and separate bar area, A Bar of Their Own is a bustling, loud, festive joint. Solid bar food and local drafts dot the menu, which is nothing special. What is special is the camaraderie. Minnesota nice, right?! Absolutely. The staff is pleasant and inviting, and the regulars are used to winning. Get ready to talk about the Gophers, the Lynx, the Frost, broomball, even dancing! These are smart local sports fans.
NEBRASKA
Set The Bar
6121 Maple St., Suite 2, Omaha, NE 68104
set-thebar.com | @setthebaromaha
Ryan Tantillo
Nebraska might not be the first place you think of when thinking “women’s sports bars,” but if you know how passionate the state is about women’s volleyball, it makes total sense. On Instagram, it says you may see some men’s sports on its screens, but “our priority is and always will be women’s sports.” A family-friendly space, Set The Bar has a simple menu, but one that is cognizant of vegans, vegetarians and those sensitive to gluten. The Banh Mi Fries look heavenly, too.
OHIO
The W Sports Bar
5428 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, OH 44102
thewsportsbarcleveland.com | @thewsportsbar
Ally Eclarin / The W Sports Bar
Located in the Gordon Square Arts District, The W is owned by three women’s sports fans—Cassy Kopp and Ally Eclarin of streetwear brand State Champs, and Shelley Pippin of Brewnuts (donuts and beer!). The menu features typical bar-food fare and includes Brewnuts Baller Bread Pudding and root beer floats. While prioritizing women’s sports, the owners plan to embrace the Cleveland sports scene, as well. “A huge portion of the women’s sports fanbase is male. This space is for everyone,” Eclarin told TheLand .
OREGON
The Sports Bra
2512 NE Broadway, Portland, OR 97232
thesportsbrapdx.com | @thesportsbrapdx
The Sports Bra
The OG of women’s sports bars truly centers women. It serves spirits from a women-owned distillery and prioritizes beer and wine from women-owned establishments. Owner Jenny Nguyen is a chef, so the menu is top notch featuring delicious vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options. With a huge and thriving community, the space is special. It has just one downfall, though—it’s tiny. Get there early or prepare to wait.
PENNSYLVANIA
Title 9
5997 Centre Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15206
title9pgh.com | @title9pgh
Rose Colored Creative
The newest member of the women’s sports bar club held its grand opening May 23. Owner Sherree Goldstein began the concept with pop-up watch parties. Located in the East Liberty neighborhood—and next door to Goldstein’s other venture, Square Cafe—Title 9 has garage doors that open onto the street for a bright and airy vibe. “Our mission is to create a space where the community can come together to exclusively watch and support women’s sports,” Goldstein told Visit Pittsburg h .
TEXAS
1972
2530 Guadalupe St., Austin, TX 78705
1972pub.com | @1972pub
1972 Pub
With a large outdoor space and a commitment to showing women’s sports, 1972—named after the year Title IX was enacted—is hosting drag bingo nights, weekly trivia competitions and reveling in women’s sports. Co-founder Debra Hallum says she and Marlene du Plessis visited Rough & Tumble in Seattle and had to open a version of their own. “It was amazing to see the place full of this community to support women’s sports. We looked at each other and said, ‘We really need to see if Austin can support a place like this.’”
Side Peace Sports Bar
4218 Washington Ave., Houston, TX 77007
@sidepeacesportsbar
Co-owned by Julie Mabry, who owns Houston’s lesbian establishment Pearl Bar, Side Peace is right next door. It boasts a festive patio, large comfy couches, high tables and a big screen. It has a nightclub feel and there will be dancing at night. It isn’t a place that exclusively shows women’s sports—you can expect to see the Astros or Rockets, too—but it is one that focuses on its female clientele.
WASHINGTON
Rough & Tumble
5309 22nd Ave. NW, Seattle, WA 98107
roughandtumblepub.com | @roughandtumblepub
Brooke Fitts
Seattle is a solid women’s sports town thanks to the Storm, Reign, the University of Washington’s nationally-ranked teams and a new USL-W soccer franchise—which is co-owned by Rough & Tumble! On the menu, two of its most popular dishes are named after Seattle sports icons, as well: The Bird, a fried chicken sandwich in honor of basketball legend Sue Bird, and The Pinoe, a salmon cake sandwich with house-made tartar sauce for soccer star Megan Rapinoe. The bar has turned into a popular events space, too, featuring sports-related movie screenings, book signings and more.
On Deck
Rikki’s (Summer 2025)
2223 Market St., San Francisco, CA 94114
rikkisbarsf.com | @rikkisbarsf
The Dub (Fall 2025)
105 W. 9th St., Kansas City, MO 64105
thedubkc.com | @thedubkc
Athena Keke’s (Summer 2025)
222 Greene Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11238
@athenakekesnyc
Wilka’s (2025)
241 Bowery, New York, NY 10006
wilkasnyc.com | @wilkasnyc
Pitch The Baby (Summer 2025)
600 19th Ave E, Seattle, WA 98112
@pitchthebabybar
In The Hole
One Of Us
San Diego, CA
oneofusbar.com | @oneofusbar
Jolene Jolene
Atlanta, GA
jolenejoleneatl.com | @jolenejoleneatl
Tomboys
Des Moines, IA
@iowasfirstwomenssportsbar
Level Sporting Club
Chicago, IL
levelsportingclub.com | @levelsportingclub
The Sports Bra
Indianapolis, IN
thesportsbraofficial.com | @thesportsbraindy
The Sports Bra
Boston, MA
thesportsbraofficial.com | @thesportsbraboston
The Sports Bra
St. Louis, MO
thesportsbraofficial.com | @thesportsbrastlouis
The Sports Bra
Las Vegas, NV
thesportsbraofficial.com | @thesportsbravegas
Raise The Bar
Columbus, OH
raisethebarcbus.com | @raisethebarcbus
San Francisco’s first women’s sports bar, Rikki’s, to open in the Castro on June 11
Rikki’s will officially open its doors on Wednesday, co-founders Danielle Thoe and Sara Yergovich told the Chronicle. The bar and restaurant, located at 2223 Market St., will be open Tuesdays through Sundays, with hours from mid-afternoon until 10 p.m. on weekdays and until midnight on weekends. The name honors Rikki Streicher, who — from the 1960s to the 1990s — operated queer and lesbian bars in San Francisco. She died in 1994 at 72 at 72 years old. The first sports bar in the San Francisco Bay Area dedicated to women’s sports is a tribute to the history of women’s sport in the U.S. and around the world. It is the latest tenant at the location after five other restaurants have closed there since 2012. A soccer jersey autographed by every member of the next San Francisco Frisbee FC team hangs to a wall next to a photo of the ultimate ultimate sports team, the Frisbees.
San Francisco is finally set to welcome its first women’s sports bar this week.
Rikki’s will officially open its doors on Wednesday, co-founders Danielle Thoe and Sara Yergovich told the Chronicle.
The bar and restaurant, located at 2223 Market St., will be open Tuesdays through Sundays, with hours from mid-afternoon until 10 p.m. on weekdays and until midnight on weekends. Rikki’s is the latest tenant at the location after five other restaurants have closed there since 2012.
Advertisement Article continues below this ad
Benni Rodriguez works the door during a pre-opening party Saturday inside Rikki’s, a new women’s sports bar in San Francisco. Rikki’s is the first sports bar in the San Francisco Bay Area dedicated to women’s sports. Camille Cohen/For the S.F. Chronicle
Thoe and Yergovich met while playing soccer for the San Francisco Spikes, an LGBTQ+ team. They bonded over their frustrations in finding bars that would play NWSL and WNBA games. They went from joking about opening a women’s sports bar to seriously investigating the possibility. The duo signed a lease in November after announcing they were fundraising to open the bar last August.
“It’s kind of a relief, honestly — it feels like this is a moment that we’ve been waiting for,” Yergovich said. “Seeing the expressions on people’s faces when they see the pictures on the walls, and they walk around the space and see all women’s sports everywhere, it feels overwhelming.”
The bar’s name honors Rikki Streicher, who was one of the co-founders of the Gay Games Federation in 1982 and two queer women’s bars in San Francisco, Maud’s and Amelia’s, which sponsored several recreation sports leagues and teams in San Francisco. She died in 1994 at 72.
Fans Mary Kay C., and Melyssa M. attend the pre-opening party Saturday inside Rikki’s, the first sports bar in the Bay Area dedicated to women’s sports. Camille Cohen/For the S.F. Chronicle
Inside, Rikki’s is a vibrant tribute to the history of women’s sports. Interior designer Wendy Trotter created walls cascaded by colorful outlines of basketball courts, soccer fields and softball diamonds. A framed Bay FC jersey autographed by every member of the 2025 team hangs next to a San Francisco Falcons ultimate Frisbee jersey. A lounge area by the bar displays vintage magazine covers and photographs of women’s sports icons, while the back wall is dedicated to Streicher, showcasing images of her former rec league teams. There are 15 televisions across the bar.
Advertisement Article continues below this ad
Originally hoping to open by mid-May, the new bar owners were delayed by what Thoe called “city hiccups.”
“Demolition was a challenge, because the original construction was really well done, so some of the demolition took a little bit longer than we thought,” Thoe said. “Then getting inspections scheduled was a challenge; it took a little longer than we had hoped, but it all got done in the end.”
Family and friends of the co-owners attend the pre-opening party Saturday inside Rikki’s, a new women’s sports bar in San Francisco. Co-owners Danielle Thoe and Sara Yergovich were inspired by the legacy of Rikki Streicher, who from the 1960s to the 1990s operated queer and lesbian bars in San Francisco. Camille Cohen/For the S.F. Chronicle
In the months leading up to the opening, Thoe and Yergovich hosted Valkyries and Bay FC watch parties at other San Francisco venues, drawing around 150 fans per event, according to Yergovich. She is hopeful that having a dedicated space showing every game will increase their patrons.
Thoe, who works in real estate, and Yergovich, who is in marketing, fundraised over the past year. Through WeFunder, a crowdfunding website, they raised $425,000 in addition to collecting $390,000 in private investments.
Advertisement Article continues below this ad
Rikki’s is the latest addition to a growing number of women’s sports bars opening across the country. In 2025, six women’s sports bars have opened in Phoenix, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Houston, Austin, Texas, and Omaha, Neb. At least eight more (Kansas City, Mo.; Seattle, Atlanta, San Diego, Des Moines, Iowa; Columbus, Ohio, and two in New York) are expected by year’s end. The Sports Bra, the first women’s sports bar to open in Portland, Ore., in 2022, recently announced it would expand with franchises in Boston, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Las Vegas.
A gallery wall featuring local women’s sports history decorates the inside of Rikki’s, a new women’s sports bar in San Francisco. Co-owners Danielle Thoe and Sara Yergovich were inspired by the legacy of Rikki Streicher, who from the 1960s to the 1990s operated queer and lesbian bars in San Francisco. Camille Cohen/For the S.F. Chronicle
Yergovich said the founders of these bars stay connected in a group chat, sharing everything from licensing tips for streaming games to marketing strategies. Many women’s sports events are on newer streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime, Peacock and league-specific services like WNBA League Pass, which pose challenges for public venues. Unlike just purchasing a cable package, the bar owners have to contact the leagues to get permission to publicly air games spread across multiple streaming partners.
For Thoe and Yergovich, that only reinforced their feeling of a need for Rikki’s. After months of work to get to an opening day, the hard part begins: keeping a bar and restaurant open.
Advertisement Article continues below this ad
Source: https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/sfs-first-womens-sports-bar-set-to-open-this-week/