Posting Up at The Sports Bra
Chef Jenny Nguyen couldn’t find a welcoming place to watch women’s sports, so she built her own.
Chef/Owner Jenny Nguyen of The Sports Bra | Photos:
Close your eyes. Imagine a place where you can watch women’s sports without having to stream it from questionable (possibly illegal?) websites, or buy 10 different streaming service subscriptions. A place where there are convenient hooks on the bar to hang your coats and bags, and the bathrooms actually have toilet paper. A place where everyone is welcome. Now open your eyes and welcome to The Sports Bra.
The Sports Bra is a sports bar dedicated to women's sports, the first of its kind. Owner Jenny Nguyen, a chef, former athlete, and women's sports enthusiast, always found herself in tough situations when she wanted to go out and watch women's games. We've all been there; the camaraderie that a sports bar elicits is too good of a feeling, but the problem for Nguyen and her friends was finding a bar that would even put on women's games. "I don't think I realized how universal the experience was for people that you can't watch women's sports in a sports bar. We would go out all the time, inconveniencing the staff to get a women's game on, and even feeling unsafe at times. I would always buddy up to the bathroom because I would get misgendered. Sports are something I love. I wanted a place I could belong."
The Sports Bra opened its doors in 2022, and was created to support, empower, and uplift girls and women in sports, but it soon became a vehicle for Nguyen to uplift women and queer-owned/led businesses, too; from the back bar, which highlights women-owned distilleries and has beers on tap from local women brewers, to the product on the menu. “Our beef is from Carman Ranch. [Cory Carman] is a fourth generation rancher, and she grows the grain for a distillery we feature here too.” Nguyen also offers gluten-free, vegan, and dairy-free options, which were always difficult for her and her friends to find at traditional sports bars. Even the tables are made by women. “My buddy is the CEO of Girls Build. They teach girls carpentry, plumbing, and electrical. So I reached out, and we set up a meeting and she agreed to do it. It was a really awesome idea."
Tempeh Reuben, Sauerkraut, Vegan Thousand Island Dressing, Vegan Cheese, Rye Bread, French Fries
Roasted Beets, Green Apples, Goat Cheese, Toasted Hazelnuts, Cilantro, Cider Vinaigrette
As The Sports Bra really started to take off, there were still some kinks she needed to iron out. What Nguyen found was that it was hard to show women’s sports. It was a full-time job to find the games on TV, until eventually patrons, networks, streaming services, teams, leagues, and even strangers began reaching out and giving her free subscriptions to women's sports channels. Soon, Nguyen saw it becoming more than her dream sports bar—it was becoming a movement. "It became bigger than me. Companies and organizations have reached out. We have done tons of fundraisers with Cascade AIDS, Basic Rights Oregon, and for breast cancer awareness. We do tons of fundraising and work with charities that fit our mission.”
The Sports Bra was built by the community for the community, so it carries a very 'come one, come all' torch. “I would love to see more Sports Bras. There’s a demand, so why would we want to keep this for ourselves? I want other people to experience this.” But don't expect to see men's sports on the screens, that's where Nguyen draws the line. Superbowl? Not at The Sports Bra. But the Rihanna halftime show? Absofuckinglutely.
