Upcoming Events 🤩

Happy Hour & Trivia

🗓️ Saturday, March 1
⏰ 8:00 PM

Wear your Everyone Watches Women’s Sports™ gear for a discount on your drink during Happy Hour!

“We get a lot of [pre-Title IX] athletes coming in. They wander around in awe and can’t fathom how in their day, they were being told all they could do was run back and forth on half of a court if they wanted to play basketball. Walking into a space that's big, beautiful, bright, and made for them — you see it literally shifts how they feel about themselves. You see the tears and the gratitude they have to still be alive to see this moment. It means a lot to me to have created a space that honors all the women who came before us.”

— Jen Barnes, owner, founder and creator of Rough & Tumble Pub

Hear from the Owner 🙌

Rough & Tumble Pub plays women’s sports on big screens with full sound, served up with good food and good friends. They’ve got a seat for every fan who wants to tune in and turn it up – whether on the court or the pitch, college or pro, icon or underdog.

You’ll feel the camaraderie from the moment you walk into the Seattle pub until long after the game ends. Since opening R&T in December of 2022, Jen Barnes has created an inclusive and modern space where everyone belongs.

Do you have any advice for someone who might be inspired to start their own women's sports establishment?

Jen: There's no one way to do this. There's no one right way to do a bar that plays women’s sports. Know your weaknesses and where you have gaps of experience, and fill them with trusted partners. Hire a bookkeeper, early on. Bookkeeping is a very detail-oriented task, so just get your ducks in order with a tax person. Bookkeeping is huge because you'll need that data for absolutely everything, so you don't want it to be a train wreck. Understanding tax implications and what's required for licensing and permitting in your city is critical to ensure you're successful. Many tend to overlook this core aspect when they’re excited about starting a business. 


Also, understanding the differences between cable, streaming, and commercial licensing in sports is critical. Doing this is not the same as residential cable or streaming on your home television. Take the time to become an expert on it. You have to be really aware of what you're signing up for and the risks you're taking if you don’t have the right releases.

What’s been your biggest challenge, and how did you overcome it?

Jen: When I came up with this idea, there was nothing like it. 
Jenny (Nguyen, The Sports Bra) and I were doing this at the same time and didn't know it. The biggest challenge back then, outside of funding, was just obtaining data to substantiate my business plan and develop the trajectory of how this was going to work. At that time, data was just starting to come out around women’s sports. 
Sports Innovation Lab and Deloitte had maybe two studies that were out at that point. Forbes was just beginning to publish things. It’s wild to think about because it was so limited and base level, and this was less than three years ago. So much has changed.

Nobody thought it was a good idea at the time. My partner said it was a good idea; other people thought it was fun and cool but questioned if it was actually smart. There was no proof. I think that's going to make it much easier and more successful for the ones that are coming up behind us.

Tell us about a rewarding experience you've seen since opening Rough & Tumble.

Jen: The one that gets to me more than anything else is actually the pre-Title IX women who come in. Athletes from before Title IX who never had the chance to experience playing a sport the way women do now. We get a lot of those athletes coming in. They wander around in awe and can’t fathom how they were told all they could do in their day was run back and forth on half of a court if they wanted to play basketball. Walking into a space that's big, beautiful, bright, and made for them — you see it literally shift how they feel about themselves. You see the tears and the gratitude they have to still be alive to see this moment. It means a lot to me to have created a space that honors all the women who came before us. I think that’s a group that tends to get overlooked.

There's been a real shift since I first opened Rough & Tumble — there were a lot of young female and nonbinary athletes who came in and didn't really grasp how special this was. But as they continued to come in, they realized how special it is and then started to take advantage of it in really cool ways. We’ve watched some of these young athletes go out and try out for semi-pro teams because they believe in their potential now, and it’s just something that they wouldn’t have done two years ago before.

Few Favs:

Favorite item on the menu?

The Gold Mamba Nachos, named after Jewell Loyd. I spent so much time leading up to opening just thinking about how to make the perfect nachos than anything else!

Favorite women athletes that are playing right now?

Lauren Barnes, OG of the Reign. She's helped build the NWSL into what it is today with humility and kindness. Outside of the records that she's broken and how she plays, she's just an excellent athlete. The way she's helped build women's soccer and the soccer community in Seattle (the best women's sports city in the world) is so special. So I'll always be in awe of her.

Valerie Allman, too. I got to see her at the Olympic trials. She was throwing it so far — it was going past the end area onto the track where people were running. I was amazed.

Favorite sport to play and your favorite sport to watch?

I'm a rower and I love skiing.