A Bar of Their Own

On East Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis' Seward neighborhood sits a bar that didn't exist anywhere in Minnesota until March 2024, and now stands as one of only a handful like it in the entire country. A Bar of Their Own is the state's first dedicated women's sports bar, LGBTQ-owned, and built specifically as a space where women, trans, and nonbinary community members can watch the game without having to explain why they care.

The concept is simple and overdue: every screen here shows women's sports, from WNBA and NWSL to college basketball, with none of the usual apologetic scheduling that relegates women's games to a back corner TV while men's football takes the main screens. The bar opened just in time for the 2024 Big Ten women's basketball tournament in Minneapolis, the same tournament that had Caitlin Clark drawing crowds, and it's kept that energy going ever since. A signed Rockford Peaches poster nods to the bar's cinematic namesake, "A League of Their Own," and the whole space carries that same spirit, unapologetic, community-first, built by people who got tired of waiting for someone else to do it.

This matters beyond the novelty. Lesbian bars have nearly disappeared across the US, dropping from roughly 200 in the 1980s to under two dozen nationwide, and the Twin Cities' queer scene has historically leaned toward spaces built primarily around gay men. A Bar of Their Own fills a real gap, a place where sapphic community, women's sports fandom, and genuine inclusivity overlap without either side feeling like an afterthought.

If you're a gay man visiting Minneapolis, this isn't a cruising spot or a nightlife stop built with you as the target crowd, and that's exactly the point, it's someone else's space, done right. Show up to support women's sports, respect the room, and you'll find a genuinely warm welcome, just don't expect the night to center around you, because it shouldn't.

Practical tip from your misterb&b crew: game nights get busy fast, especially during marquee WNBA matchups or March Madness, so arrive early if you want a good seat with a clear view of the screen. The food menu leans into fun, sport-themed names alongside solid vegan and gluten-free options, so there's something for most dietary needs.

Minneapolis' broader LGBTQ+ scene spreads well beyond one neighborhood, and knowing where each space fits, who it's for, and how to show up respectfully makes all the difference. Booking with a local host through misterb&b means arriving with someone who already understands that map, and who can point you toward the right night out, whether that's