For years, former chef Jenny Nguyen joked with her friend Liz about opening a bar called The Sports Bra. The imaginary place would be dedicated to one of their shared passions: women’s sport. Nguyen opened The Sports Bra on April 1, Portland’s first bar dedicated to women’s sports. The bar also offers liquor and beef from the Oregon area.
Some of the furniture in the bar was built by Girls Build, a local non-profit organization for girls. Men and women flocked to the 40-seat venue on Portland’s NE Broadway to grab a drink and chat about women’s soccer, golf, track and field, and more. The sports bra has received nationwide media coverage and warm support from the community, said Nguyen, 42.
The idea behind The Sports Bra
But Nguyen continually harbored a love for women’s sports activities. Among her buddies, The Sports Bra idea loomed largely—however simplest as a dream. The upward thrust of women’s sports activities withinside the media has helped the bar’s mission. Nguyen stated she can’t remember if any women’s sports activities got any airtime whilst she turned young.
Nguyen recounted, “commenced as a joke, and in my head, it’s an area wherein my buddies watch sports activities, We had continually joked approximately it. But sooner or later I turned into seeking to think about methods that I should provide returned to the community.
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How did Nguyen step up here?
Nguyen grew up gambling basketball in Portland, wherein the game has become an entrenched part of her identity. Not best did she love gambling, but it supplied a smokescreen for anybody who was puzzled about her sexuality. However, Nguyen’s dream of gambling basketball professionally became reduced briefly at age 19 when she ruptured her ACL. Crushed, she needed to discover a new path.
Nguyen determined to pursue cooking, an ability she found out from her mother. She took a process as a fryer at a neighborhood Red Robin restaurant. Over a 15-12 months career, she finally has become a government chef at Reed College via Bon Appetit Management Company.
Nguyen left Bon Appetit after 3 years, pronouncing she desired something less “corporate.” She gigged around for some time earlier than ultimately finding out to release the bar in 2020. Not best wouldn’t it not broadcast sports, however, it is able to additionally function as an occasion and assembly space.
