Jenny Nguyen’s 2022 Kickstarter campaign to build a women’s sports bar was fully funded within nine days. More than 600 donors contributed and sent her over $100,000 with a clear message: Make it real.
She realized then that the hunger she felt for a space that treated women’s sports as the centerpiece wasn’t hers alone. A former basketball player and chef, Nguyen first had the idea in 2018 and just couldn’t shake it.
“I thought, ‘God, if we can get one kid in here that could feel represented and feel like there’s a future for them in sports, even if that one kid had that moment, it would be worth it,’” Nguyen said.
When she finally set out to open the Sports Bra in Portland, Oregon, she took great care to build a space that celebrated women but would be inclusive for all. All beers on tap are made by women or at breweries owned or operated by women. One of the most popular cocktails is “Title IX,” after the law prohibiting sex discrimination in athletic programs. The bar has become a haven for the queer community, people of color, men and families; children are allowed in until 10 p.m.
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When it opened in April 2022, lines were out the door. The Bra looks like a 40-seat museum to women’s sports greatness, covered in jerseys, trophies, cleats and balls. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert signed one of its walls. Within 8 months, it hit $1 million in revenue.
And it inspired a movement: At least two dozen similar bars have opened in other cities, including Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Denver, Kansas City, Minneapolis, New York City and San Francisco. Next, the Bra is franchising, funded in part by the foundation headed by Alexis Ohanian, Reddit co-founder and the husband of tennis champion Serena Williams.
All of it has happened as the popularity of women’s sports continues its meteoric rise, consistently breaking attendance, viewership and revenue records.
“It is such a beautiful thing and I will never take it for granted,” Nguyen said. “We opened in 2022 when things were very different for us — it was difficult to get content on the screen and being alive and able to witness it through the eyes of the Bra, this trajectory change? Not only that, but then to zoom out and see that we played a small part in it? It's very powerful.”
This profile is apart of The 19th’s Revolutionary series. Subscribe to The Amendment, our biweekly newsletter, to receive project updates and political analysis focused on gender, race and power.
our past coverage of Jenny Nguyen
· July 25, 2024
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