Lots of people tried to dissuade Jen Barnes from opening Rough & Tumble, among the first women-themed sports bars in the United States. She didn’t listen.

“Quite a few tried to talk me out of this because at the time it was crazy,” says Barnes, a fourth-generation Seattleite and a huge sports fan who spent 20 years in the legal field before opening the bar in Old Ballard about two years ago. “Nobody had thought of this. Nothing like it had ever existed. There were no examples, no proof of concept, nothing.”

Today, Rough & Tumble has become Seattle’s go-to bar for women’s sports. Thirsty patrons pack it for big games involving the likes of the WNBA’s Seattle Storm, the Northwest Soccer League’s Seattle Reign FC, and various University of Washington women’s sporting events. Fan bases representing women’s pro and college teams across the country also visit, including alumni groups.

Women’s sports always take priority (only 15% of all sports programming across the United States is dedicated to women), but big games such as the Super Bowl and those involving the Seahawks, Sounders, and Mariners also play on one of the many screens in the space once occupied by hotspot Sawyer. At least half of the screens always show women’s sports.

Barnes says she’s been “very intentional” about making the bar a place that goes beyond sports, including a food menu that’s a cut above typical pub fare and a welcoming, friendly atmosphere. She also had to fight stereotypes that Rough & Tumble was a lesbian bar welcome only to women. She estimates that men make up about 45% of customers.

Barnes calls Seattle among the top women’s sports meccas in the country, citing the Reign, Storm, and the University of Washington’s robust women’s sports programs. She says she’s been “very surprised” at the warm welcome Rough & Tumble has received from the sports community, because she’s been a longtime fan but wasn’t “integrated” into the system.

She plans to open another Rough & Tumble in the Seattle area, and the plan from day one has included national and even international expansion.

“It is the only place in the world that is purposefully built for equality, and unfortunately, that makes it very special,” she says. “But it’s not just for women. It’s not exclusively women’s sports. It’s for everyone.”