The Sports Bra’s food menu will feature classic pub food like buffalo wings and burgers, as well as Nguyen’s Vietnamese-style baby back ribs. In addition to showcasing the best women’s sports have to offer, Nguyen created her drink menu by partnering with local female-owned brewers and distillers like Migration, Freeland Spirits, and Herbucha. As of March 6, Nyguen has raised $92,488 compared to an initial $48,700 target.ĭoubling the initial start-up goal certainly seems to say “there is an audience for this.” In 2007, in an article about Portlands appeal to. The Burnside Triangle was also known for their gay bars, including the infamous Three Sisters (now closed), Silverado, Scandals, and Boxxes (now closed).
“There were these social movements that really had me thinking about what I could do,” Nguyen told Eater’s Brooke Jackson-Glidden, “It was my partner who said, ‘Hey, you know how you’ve been joking about The Sports Bra for years? You should do it.”Īfter committing to making The Sports Bra a reality, Nyguen ran into a sizable obstacle when every traditional investor she contacted took a pass on her idea. The Burnside Triangle housed a combination of gay-friendly businesses such as independent shops, restaurants, housing, and social services. It was an offhand comment from her partner that truly solidified her vision.
Nguyen, who is LGBTQ, first conceived the idea after watching the 2018 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship in a crowded sports bar and realizing she had to request one TV be turned to the game-and even then it was on mute.Īfter a few years mulling it over, she was inspired to take action by the USWNT’s fight for equal pay as well as a Me Too reckoning in the Portland restaurant scene. The interior of The Sports Bra is coming together for its April opening. The Sports Bra will also be an official viewing party location for all home and away Portland Thorns matches. Next to all the flatscreens, the bar plans to honor legendary female athletes with posters featuring luminaries like Serena Williams or Sue Bird, as well as institutions like the Seattle Storm. When it opens its doors, the NWSL season will already be underway and the WNBA will tip off shortly thereafter so there will be plenty of opportunities to (hopefully) watch Candace Parker, Megan Rapinoe, Ali Krieger and other out athletes in action. Like any good sports bar, The Sports Bra will house numerous televisions playing women’s sports airing on cable, satellite or streaming services. The bar is scheduled to open in Portland in early April and was recently profiled by Eater. Flags for gay, transgender, and genderqueer pride hang over the new windows.Portland chef and restauranteur Jenny Nguyen is aiming to turn the stereotype of male-dominated sports bars on its head with the founding of The Sports Bra, an all-ages bar and restaurant dedicated to women’s sports.
Outside the bar, six light bulbs, each a different color of the rainbow, cast light on the sidewalk. And really, this is the only place left in the city that’s like that.”Īs Blackstones changes with the times, it does so with renewed light. “But you also want to come someplace where there’s people like you. “The younger generation, they want to be included, they want to be part of everything. Larry Jackson, a Blackstones regular, said younger people don’t always see the need for gay bars, but that the bar’s dedication to the gay community, even as it draws a wider audience, is part of its charm. But when it’s busy on Friday and Saturday nights, the pool table sometimes gets pushed aside to make room for dancing. The pool tournaments are held Tuesdays and Sundays, drawing on an older crowd. Larry Jackson (left) and his husband, Steve Floyd, relaxed last week at the bar. They give you so much enthusiasm and energy that you just can’t help but give it back to them,” she said. “The crowd - it’s wall-to-wall people in here. “I’ve performed all over the Northeast, and this is the best place I’ve ever performed in my life,” she said.
Longtime performer and Blackstones entertainment director Danielle Dior, a transgender woman who is known for her Liza Minnelli, Madonna, and Lady Gaga impersonations, said Blackstones is her favorite venue. Patrons call Blackstones the “gay Cheers,” a neighborhood bar that welcomes regulars and newcomers alike. “People can actually see that we’re normal people, just playing pool or listening to music and drinking,” Caron said. Patrons don’t feel cut off from the world outside, and passersby can realize the once-boarded-up bar is actually a fun, welcoming place. “It feels like we’re not in a dungeon anymore,” he said. Jerry Caron, 72, who runs the tournament, welcomed the bright, open feel. On Tuesday, late-afternoon light poured into the bar as its twice-a-week pool tournament got underway. Rusty Wilcox (center) enjoyed a beer near Blackstones’ new windows.