THERE’S A NEW BAR in the Castro and this one’s a little different.
On Tuesday evening, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie shouted, “Let’s go San Francisco!” as he took part in cutting the ceremonial purple ribbon inside the newly opened Rikki’s, the city’s latest — and only — women’s sports bar.
Set to fully open to the public on Wednesday, Rikki’s is expected to be a new community space for people across the Bay Area.
Co-owners Sara Yergovich and Danielle Thoe spoke about the importance of the new space to the few dozen supporters and staff present at the private gathering.
“Rikki’s is not only where you can watch the game, but where you want to come back over and over again,” says Yergovich. “It’s about the community that we’re building.”
Bay Football Club professional women’s soccer team CEO Brady Stewart and Kimberly Veale, senior vice president of marketing and communications for the Golden State Valkyries from the Women’s National Basketball Association, also spoke about the importance of the new space.
“Rikki’s is a space to join each other in a common company all cheering for women’s sports and build women’s sports community in the city,” said Stewart.
Rikki’s is located at 2223 Market St. in the Castro District and will be the first-ever women’s sports bar in San Francisco, according to the owners. Yergovich and Thoe got the idea to open the venue after having difficulty finding reliable places to watch their favorite women’s games.
“It should not be this hard to watch women’s sports,” says Yergovich. “So Danielle and I thought, why don’t we do something about it?”
The her-story behind the bar’s name
The pair say the bar is named after local LGBTQ activist Rikki Streicher. She helped to establish the Federation of Gay Games and the International Gay Olympics in the 1980s. They credit her work operating some of the first queer and lesbian bars from the 1960s to the 1990s as a source of inspiration for the opening of their own inclusive space.
“Though Rikki passed away in 1994, her vision and the community she inspired lives on,” says Thoe.
Thoe added that there has always been a link between women’s rights and LGBTQ rights.
“Both of these groups of people have had to fight for our rights, to build the teams and spaces that we want to enjoy, because women having space in sports has not always been a given.”
Director of community programs at the SF LGBTQ Center Rosemary Gardner agrees.
“Being able to find inclusive spaces where folks within the LGBTQ community can come in, know they’re safe, know they’re affirmed, and that they can relax and enjoy each other’s company is more vital than ever,” she said at the event.
Inside the venue, patrons are met with a full bar to the left with neatly lined up bottles and garnishes ready for making custom drinks associated with local teams. Fourteen televisions show live games and are visible from almost every angle around the bar as a surround-sound system draws people into the action. Off to one corner is a seating area with sports decor adorning the entire wall. Towards the back of the bar are lights in the shape of basketballs in hoops, a mural commemorating Rikki Streicher, and a view into the new full-service kitchen. The wooden tables and chairs offer plenty of seating with a maximum capacity of 161 people inside the space.
Interior decorator Wendy Trotter says she had a color palette of purple and peach and had to think of ways to make the space feel welcoming and sporty.
“The images and medals from the Gay Games are on loan from their respective owners. We want people to know about the history of women’s sports when they look around and feel like they belong,” she said.
Yergovich says she hopes to see more community pieces to be put up alongside the Gay Games medals, pennants, and signed jerseys around the bar as time goes on.
“I want to feel like it’s a space where it’s not completely centered around drinking culture. Everyone is welcomed,” she said.
Supporters Carissa Avalos and her partner Natalia Harteh felt very emotional to finally have a space within the Castro.
“There’s a subtext that spaces were intended for someone else, not us,” says Avalos. “I am looking forward to watching the WNBA and the wings. In a space I feel joy and belonging.”
After months of permit applications, construction, and business grants, Rikki’s is set to open on Wednesday to the public.
Hours of operation will be Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3:30-10 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 11:30 a.m.-12:00 a.m., and on Sundays from 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
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