The Sports Bra opens in Maplewood on November 13

If you have ever walked into a sports bar and found nothing on the screens but men's games, there is a new spot about to change that. The Sports Bra, the first sports bar in the world dedicated exclusively to women's sports, is opening its first franchise location in Maplewood on November 13, at 7344 Manchester Road. It is a 2,950-square-foot space, with 1,800 square feet of indoor seating for up to 120 people and an outdoor patio that holds about 30 more.

The whole point of the place is the programming. Thirteen screens prioritize women's games, and the lineup leans local: the St. Louis SLAM women's football team, Lou Fusz Athletic in the WPSL, and the Arch Rival Roller Derby all get screen time, alongside national leagues like the NWSL, the WNBA, the PWHL and the Athletes Unlimited Softball League. College sports are in the mix too, with teams from Saint Louis University, UMSL, Washington University in St. Louis and Mizzou. The walls are decorated with local sports memorabilia, and the bar plans to host watch parties and events around the games it carries.

Behind the scenes, the St. Louis location is a pair of old teammates. Heather Hill and Sara Pilsner met as kids playing on the same softball team, and they are running the place under the name PilsnerHill Group LLC, with Hill as owner-operator. She brings more than two decades of retail management experience and a decade in catering and hospitality to the table. The menu is built to be inclusive, with vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and dairy-free options, and the kitchen sources from local women-owned businesses whenever it can. Signature dishes include Mom's Baby Back Ribs, Aunt Tina's Vietna-Glaze Wings and a Tempeh Reuben, while the cocktail list runs with the theme: The GOAT, Title IX, Cherry Picker and Pickle Ball.

The brand itself started in Portland in April 2022, when professional chef and sports fan Jenny Nguyen launched the original location after a successful Kickstarter campaign. Alexis Ohanian's 776 Foundation invested in the business that same year. The franchise side of things followed later, with a franchise website in October 2024 and the first group of owners signing up in the spring of 2025. St. Louis joins the original Portland spot to form what the brand calls its Starting Five, with franchises also planned for Boston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas and Maine. Nguyen, now founder and CEO, has spoken about the expansion, and former U.S. women's national soccer team co-captain Becky Sauerbrunn, who hosts the Teaming Up podcast, has expressed her excitement about the opening in her hometown.

For now, the focus is on the November 13 opening. If you want to keep track of what is coming, the bar follows @thesportsbrastlouis on Instagram and Facebook, and the franchise team can be reached at stlouis1@thesportsbrafranchise.com. Whether you are a diehard fan of a specific league or just looking for a place that actually puts women's sports on the screen, it is a welcome addition to the local scene.