A few weeks ago, me and Mrs. James were enjoying a nice lunch at one of our favorite restaurants. This place has several televisions, and they’re usually showing ESPN, or whichever channel has a soccer game. That day, it was ESPN.

I became mesmerized by the burly face on the screen. It was possibly the most bro-y BRO face I’ve ever seen. The man was hosting some kind of talk show (fortunately, the sound was off). And surrounded by dumb sports collectables. Talking to other bro-y BRO-looking guys surrounded by their Man Cave sports crap. And one guy who had a pack of “Dude Wipes” on his desk.

The corner of the screen said “PMS Live,” because the host’s initials are P.M., and this is the P.M. Show. Also, and this was clear… because PMS, right? That thing that makes women all whiny and CRAZY? (These guys looked like bigger sports whiners than most women on a tough period day I’ve ever met.)

This is the kind of thing that makes sensible people hate sports bars and sports radio. Even though a nice radio host (like Henry Lake on WCCO) or watching a game with fellow fans can be a fun thing.

But not when it’s just dosed pure through with idiotic RUFF’N’TUFF testosterone jabber.

There’s a new sports bar in Minneapolis which is definitely the opposite of bro-y BRO attitude. And where the bathrooms have free sanitary supplies for women.

It’s called A Bar Of Their Own, and it’s dedicated to women’s sports. We noticed that they were working on this back in December, and it’s been open since March.

The basic genesis was that some softball fans walked into a bar, quite near the U of M, to watch the Gophers in the national softball tournament. The bartenders refused to change the channel on even one of the 20+ televisions.

“They just gave me a ton of lip about it,” said Jillian Hiscock (one of the softball fans). Hiscock had read about a women’s sports bar in Portland, called The Sports Bra (great name!). And so she decided to try one here.

How are things going? Well, opening day was packed. Although for Hiscock, who had never owned a bar, “the learning curve was very steep,” she got advice from The Sports Bra’s owner. And, Hiscock’s background in nonprofit community organizations was useful: “Nonprofits are understaffed and under-resourced and that’s basically what opening bar is. How do you do something with no money and no people? You figure it out.” She put out a crowdfunding request, and got an enthusiastic response.

So, what’s it like to go there?

We made sure to avoid any huge events, like a Caitlin Clark or Lynx game. A good idea, too, as the place isn’t very big (this picture shows about half the available space). As you’d expect, there are tons of decorations devoted to women’s sports, and specifically Minnesota women’s sports. Examples!

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The menu is nothing fancy, mostly burgers, salads, and appetizers. But the prices are quite decent! Comparable to an Applebee’s, but of course much better than an Applebee’s. And there’s a few curveballs in there – I would have loved to try the kimchi Carnitas. They have solid vegetarian options, too. But Mrs. James was feeling carniverous, so we went with the double bacon burger.

(Quite yummy – yet in the true spirit of yummy bar food, the juciness of the burger defeated the bun’s structural integrity halfway through.)

The servers seemed to enjoy each others’ company, which adds to the atmosphere. It makes you think they’re actually being paid decently and respected by the owner – that’s not always something you get outside of family-owned restaurants. (Nor inside all of those, either…)

What’s the crowd like? Well, as you’d imagine, it’s mostly women. And, when we were there, mostly young women, of college-athlete age. But not exclusively. There was one couple about our age. And two guys watching professional volleyball!

I did not know there was a professional volleyball league. It’s new this year, in fact. It’s called the Pro Volleyball Federation, and has seven teams. The game that was on was the championship, and featured a team from Grand Rapids with a pretty cool logo. I assume the guys knew one of the players; Grand Rapids isn’t that far away, you know.

Naturally, there was a WNBA game on. Also, collegiate softball. And ultimate frisbee! (One sport I could really not imagine getting into, because I am the world’s worst frisbee thrower and I hate throwing them. So I could never enjoy watching other people throw ‘em.)

Sadly, I did not see what I could identify as any roller-derby gear; as I’ve said before, live roller derby is the single coolest live sport I’ve ever seen outside of baseball. But roller derby is really more of a Saint Paul thing. Because Saint Paul is cooler.

Would it be a fun environment to watch a big game in, like a Lynx playoff game? I don’t know. I enjoy being in a bar full of fans watching the same sport, but I probably wouldn’t enjoy being in one so full. For those who like packed crowd energy, that might be terrific.

The one (sort of) hiccup we had was when we were ordering drinks, and I was kinda feeling like water after a rather imbiby TwinkieTown gamethread the night before.

Mrs. James said, “I thought you wanted beer!” Then turned to the server and said “I’m sorry, I should never tell him what to do.”

I got some server side-eye for this. Not much, just a flicker. Like “is this one of those evil husbands who yells STOP CONTROLLING ME to his wife all the time?”

But, by the end of our visit, the side-eye had vanished. And the server asked around to answer our question, “who are the Minnesota Hot Dish team?” (The jersey on the left in the header photo.)

Nobody was 100% sure — customers sometimes just donate these things. But they guessed that it was rugby. It’s next to a US National women’s rugby team jersey, after all.

Basically, what I enjoyed most there was just being able to casually look at some sports I don’t usually see, in an atmosphere that feels very inclusive and friendly. Kid-friendly, too; they make space for strollers. Maybe not on a Lynx game night, though.

And the host of the “PMS Show” can go bro himself.

For the podcast-minded, Canis Hoopus had an interview with Hiscock last year; you can find it and read their article about her & the bar here.

Oh, and, for the record? I did look up what “Dude Wipes” are. They’re exactly what you think they are. And the website, which I won’t link to, says they’re “flushable.” Do not ever do this. Wikipedia can tell you why!