Rough & Tumble, the Ballard bar built around women’s sports, is opening a second location next month in Columbia City. The new space takes over the longtime home of Columbia City Ale House, just minutes from the Reign’s training facility.

When it opened in 2022, Rough & Tumble was the first bar in the world dedicated to gender equity in sports viewing. Now it’s also the first women’s sports bar brand to open a second location. Founder Jen Barnes says it has always been about representation. Putting women’s games on the big screens with full sound tells fans their teams matter and creates a space where everyone can see themselves in the game.

Barnes, a fourth-generation Seattleite who spent two decades in the legal field before opening the Ballard flagship, says she faced plenty of skepticism at the start. “Quite a few tried to talk me out of this because at the time it was crazy,” she says. “Nobody had thought of this. Nothing like it had ever existed. There were no examples, no proof of concept, nothing.”

Jen Barnes, founder of Rough & Tumble, at the Ballard flagship.

Photo by JaneG. / Rough & Tumble

That first location, with 18 screens and room for 250, quickly proved the idea worked. The bar drew national attention, and Barnes was named one of Seattle magazine’s 25 Most Influential People last year. Crowds have backed it up, too—the place filled to capacity during the Women’s World Cup not long after opening, and March Madness brings lines down the block every year.

The Columbia City opening comes as women’s sports are gaining momentum. Less than 5% of sports media coverage went to women’s games in 2022; today the number is closer to 16% and projected to reach 21% by year’s end. About three in ten U.S. adults now follow women’s sports, and industry analysts estimate the sector could reach $2.5 billion in annual revenue by 2030.

Seattle is at the center of that rise. The city is home to the Storm in the WNBA, the Reign in the NWSL, and a new PWHL team set to debut this fall—a push Rough & Tumble helped champion through community campaigns. The Seattle Majestics play women’s tackle football, and Salmon Bay FC, which Barnes co-owns, competes in the USL W League. Earlier this year, the Storm signed a broadcast deal with KOMO (ABC) and KUNS (CW) to air 33 games, extending the team’s reach to 2.3 million homes.

The number of women’s sports bars is expected to quadruple this year. Rough & Tumble is no longer Seattle’s only women’s sports bar, as Capitol Hill got its own this summer with Pitch the Baby, a European-inspired bar focused on women’s sports.

“Seattle has become the capital of women’s sports, and Rough & Tumble is a vital part of that story,” says Madi McNamara, director of business operations for PWHL Seattle. “Its expansion shows just how strong and passionate women’s sports fans are—not only in Seattle but across North America. That kind of energy is exactly what’s fueling the rise of professional women’s hockey and the PWHL.”

Reign general manager Lesle Gallimore calls the expansion “a powerful moment for our community.” And Columbia City Ale House owner Emily Eberhardt says she’s glad to hand the space to another woman-run business rooted in community.

Rough & Tumble’s second location is set to open next month.