Close
MyNorthwest
News
Opinion
Sports
Tools
Connect

LIFESTYLE

‘A powerful moment’: Women’s sports bar announces second Seattle location

Sep 16, 2025, 3:00 PM | Updated: 4:15 pm

Rough & Tumble women's sports bar seattle...

Sports fans cheer at Rough & Tumble in Ballard. (Photo courtesy of the Seattle Channel)

(Photo courtesy of the Seattle Channel)

Julia Dallas's Profile Picture

BY JULIA DALLAS


MyNorthwest Content Editor

Another women’s sports bar is opening in Seattle.

Rough & Tumble is opening a second location in Columbia City sometime next month, the bar announced on its website.

Ballard location opens

Jen Barnes first opened a location in Ballard in 2022 after not seeing an establishment that showcased both genders equally. She said the second location stemmed from demand.

“We’ve proven that women’s sports fans are a viable market and far more than a movement or a moment,” Barnes stated via the bar’s website. “Prioritizing gender equality isn’t just the right thing to do — it’s smart, sustainable business that redefines how women are valued far beyond sports.”

The Columbia City location is set to mimic the Ballard bar, with a green tiled bar, large windows, a vibrant design, and, of course, plenty of screens. It will be in the Columbia City Ale House on Rainier Avenue South, which is scheduled to close, according to The Washington Beer Blog.

“I’m excited that Rough & Tumble is opening its next location,” General Manager of the Seattle Reign FC Lesle Gallimore stated, via the bar’s website. “Rough & Tumble is about celebrating all of women’s sports and creating safe, inclusive spaces where fans can come together, connect, and be inspired. This is a powerful moment for our community.”

Portland women’s sports bar expanding

Portland holds the world’s first bar to exclusively air women’s sports. The Sports Bra opened in April 2022.

It is also expanding, with planned locations in Boston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, and St. Louis, according to its website.

RELATED STORIES

WNBA viewership breaks records

The WNBA saw record viewership in 2024, up 170% compared to 2023, according to Front Office Sports. Star Caitlin Clark’s debut on ESPN averaged more than 2 million viewers.

Even with Clark’s multiple injuries this year, viewership rose by 3% in 2025, according to Sports Media Watch.

Follow Julia Dallas on X. Read her stories here. Submit news tips here.

sign up for the 425 Magazine newsletter

Lifestyle

Ricky Blanding, founder of Scrap Soils, holds composted soil at Sanctuary Farms, Monday, Sept. 14, ...

Associated Press

Budding food scrap pickup services across the US want your coffee grounds and eggshells

DETROIT (AP) — Every Monday, Ricky Blanding drives his Ford Ranger pickup truck around Detroit along a carefully planned route. Blanding hops in and out of the truck, grabbing buckets of food scraps from porches and restaurants, piling those scraps into bins in the truck bed and driving them to a composting site. Blanding is […]

8 hours ago

In this image taken from video provided by Jacob Hutzler shows Hutzler flies his paramotor to work ...

Associated Press

Meet the air traffic controller who flies himself to work

PUEBLO, Colo. (AP) — Jake Hutzler spends his workdays directing planes from an airport tower. Once a week, he gets there by strapping a propeller to his back and taking to the skies of Colorado. Before his commute, the 28-year-old air traffic controller lays out a large wing on the road outside his apartment complex, […]

3 days ago

Three cans of Arizona Iced Tea are displayed in Phoenix, Sept. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills...

Associated Press

In a 99-cent AriZona Iced Tea can, echoes of childhood autonomy and fleeting freedoms

NEW YORK (AP) — Four quarters used to buy a can of AriZona Iced Tea. You’d crack it open and savor the artificially flavored, high-fructose-corn-syrup-sweetened drink between fits of giggling on the walk home from school. For some, the can symbolized childhood autonomy. It was among the first solo purchases a kid made or a […]

3 days ago

FILE - ChatGPT history by a teenager is seen at a coffee shop in Russellville, Ark., on July 15, 20...

Associated Press

A reckoning on social media addiction came late for many kids. Will AI safety be different?

Years after the risks of social media for kids first became apparent, U.S. states this summer reached an accord hailed as a turning point for child safety. Meanwhile, a new generation of children has begun engaging with an even more potent technology: artificial intelligence. While the efforts to make social media safer are still taking […]

3 days ago

This photo provided by Jack Pearadin shows the American Dream diamond sitting on top of a large gem...

Associated Press

Arkansas gem hunter says he found what may be a $1 million diamond

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Jack Pearadin is the first to admit that his diamond-hunting hobby hasn’t paid off, despite sifting rocks for more than a dozen years. But earlier this year, the Navy reservist and his friend shoveled a six-carat diamond from a field in Arkansas where he’s found over 300 gems so far. […]

3 days ago

FILE - A woman walks by a sign "Buy now pay later" at a store in Bangalore, India, on Sept. 10, 200...

Associated Press

Americans are using buy now, pay later more than ever. Here’s what to know if you’re one of them

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans spent more than $160 billion last year using buy now, pay later plans, according to research published by Federal Reserve economists. Experts say they’re increasingly seeing people use the plans for everyday expenses like groceries, bills, transportation and, sometimes rent. “It has been very hard out there for a lot […]

4 days ago

‘A powerful moment’: Women’s sports bar announces second Seattle location