For the first time in more than a year, Queer News Tonight is reporting a new women’s bar in the United States. In San Francisco, a city renowned as a gay mecca, there’s one glaring gap — women’s bars. With only two in the city serving a lesbian clientele, Sara Yergovich and Danielle Thoe are stepping up to the plate. The two met while playing soccer with the San Francisco Spikes and now, they’re kicking off their own venture: Rikki’s, a women’s sports bar in the Castro.
Opening in May on Market Street, Rikki’s will be the first space for women in the area in decades, and the partners are eager to make an impact. Despite not having a hospitality background — Sara works in marketing, and Danielle is in affordable housing — their combined expertise, along with an advisory group of industry veterans, has already raised hundreds of thousands in funding. During a recent chat with LGBTQ Nation, Sara and Danielle revealed that the idea for Rikki’s sparked during a casual soccer game conversation.
Rikki’s isn’t just a bar; it’s a community space that will serve as a hub for women and nonbinary fans of sports. Danielle says, “We want people to feel like they can gather here after their own games.” Named after the late Rikki Streicher, who helped establish iconic women’s bars Maud’s and Amelia’s, Rikki’s is paying tribute to those lost spaces. The bar will highlight women’s sports, a field that’s gaining momentum with teams like the Valkyries in the WNBA and Bay FC in the NWSL. As they prepare to open, Sara and Danielle are making their mark with a community-driven approach, funding from friends, family, and 222 investors via Wefunder.
