SF’s first dedicated women’s sports bar is coming to the Castro District on Market near Sanchez Street this year, and will probably become the go-to place to watch the Golden State Valkyries’ WNBA games.
The space at 2223 Market Street (near Sanchez Street) has had a pretty rotten run of luck for the last 12 years. The longtime brunch and roasted chicken spot 2223 Restaurant closed in 2012, and was replaced by a revolving door of restaurants that never quite caught on. The space has been Jake’s on Market, Pesce, Nomica, Izakaya Sushi Ran, and most recently the Spanish-Mexican restaurant Copas, which closed for good this past April.
But there’s a very unique new concept coming to 2223 Market Street that hopes to score better than those short-lived predecessors. Hoodline reports that a women’s sports bar called Rikki’s is moving into the space, with sights on opening "by May or June 2025." The Chronicle broke the news in August that co-owners Danielle Thoe and Sara Yergovich were planning to open SF’s first dedicated women’s sports bar, and now they announce that they’ve secured a Castro District location.
The name Rikki might ring a bell, as it’s named for the same Rikki as Rikki Streicher Field at 19th and Diamond Streets. Rikki Streicher was the owner of the 1960s and 70s lesbian bars Maud’s and Amelia’s (at which Dykes on Bikes was formed), and she was the co-founder of the Gay Olympics, later called the Gay Games.
"There's a lot of history in San Francisco of women's sports, of queer women, and activism," Rikki’s co-owner Danielle Thoe told Hoodline. She and Yergovich chose the name Rikki’s because "we wanted the name to reflect the history that's here in the city."
Rikki’s will be a primarily a women’s sports bar, though not specifically a lesbian or queer bar. "Rikki's will be an inclusive place and anyone is welcome," Thoe told Hoodline. And their TVs will also show your standard 49ers, Warriors, and Giants games. "We want to prioritize women's sports, but not exclusively show them," she added.
Are there really enough women’s professional sports on TV to sustain a women’s sports bar? There are if you look hard enough for them, it’s just that most bars don’t play them. And this concept has already been successful with Portland’s The Sports Bra and Minneapolis’ A Bar of Their Own.
Rikki’s will boast a full beer, wine, and liquor bar, and will have about 15 televisions. A food menu is still in development, but is being created by former Jamber owner JD Voss.
While the opening date is set for this spring, Rikki’s is still crowdfunding to open the bar. They’ve raised nearly $300,000 of a $425,000 goal, and heck, you can be an investor in Rikki’s too. The minimum investments accepted are just $100.
Rikki’s tides will surely be lifted by the new San Francisco WNBA team the Golden State Valkyries, who begin play this spring. But we noted earlier that Rikki’s won’t be opening until May or June. So that’s a tight timeline, because the Valkyries start their season on May 17.
Is a women’s sports bar economically sustainable? The above Instagram post shows some of the informal pop-up WNBA watch parties that the Rikki’s team has organized at other venues, and that bar sure seems to be at full capacity. It’s the idea of a women’s sports bar that’s exciting, and honestly, we can’t wait to head there for some Golden State Valkyries basketball and chicken wings later this year.
Related: Very Large New Sports Bar From PCH Team Coming to Chase Center/Thrive City [SFist]
Image: rikkisbarsf via Instagram
