PHOTO: Portland Thorns and Houston Dash players gather at midfield during the first half of an NWSL soccer match in Portland, Ore., Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Steve Dipaola)
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It’s International Womens’ Day, and within a month, history will be made in the worlds of basketball, soccer, and cocktails.
A Pacific Northwest entrepreneur is about to open a very different, and very refreshing take on the traditional “sports bar.”
…and yet some things will be very familiar. Like a friendly bartender, good food, and there will be sports on every TV.
Female professional sports.
“We’re giving people a place where they feel represented and feel comfortable, and belong,” says owner Jenny Nguyen. She goes on to tell KOIN-TV “…having that shared sense. I think that’s very important, and I think that’s been lacking.”
Nguyen is about to open the doors of “The Sports Bra.”
Yes, you read correctly.
“This is ‘The Sports Bra,'” she says with a laugh. “It’s gonna be a women’s sports bar where the motto is ‘We Support Women.'”
Jenny is not just into sports, she played a little basketball in high school. After going to traditional bars and pubs to watch games, she had an idea for something different, and says the new establishment comes after a lot of soul searching.
“The pandemic happened, and then there was a bunch of upheaval from social justice movements. People started to re-evaluate their priorities and their lives, and I went through the same thing.”
Her bar is in downtown Portland, and as far as she knows, is the first bar of its kind not just around here, but in the world.
“And people were really really happy to help,” she says. “Some wondered ‘Why has no one done this yet?’ They wanted to be a part of it and they wanted to create this space together.”
She pulls no punches. There’s more to this than just a place where you grab a drink and watch female athletes.
“You want to show the world that its these small, tiny changes. That’s all it takes.”
And there’s even a non-alcoholic menu, because Jenny wants little girls to have an experience at “The Sports Bra” watching pro sports featuring women.
An experience she never had at their age.
“What kind of a difference it would have made (for me) to have a place where we felt like we belonged as little girls.” Nguyen says. “Even if there’s only one girl that ever comes in here and sees it on TV, and that inspires her to dream big about playing sports as an adult. I mean, that to me, is everything.”
