When Becky Brown opened the doors of her new sports bar in Stockport's Weir Mill development earlier this week, she wasn't sure how many people would turn up. The former cotton mill on the banks of the River Mersey, which dates back to 1790, has been transformed into a trendy neighbourhood featuring apartments, bars, restaurants, coffee spots and shops.
It's a project which Stopfordians have been eagerly awaiting, with many trying to sneak a peek beyond the railings over the last few weeks as the first businesses, including Becky's, prepare to open.
Nervous start, busy night
“It was five to five and I posted that we’re open, and I just thought it’s raining, it’s Wednesday night, and there’s only that one fence panel open, but we ended up really busy all the way through to 11pm,” she says whilst sitting in her new bar, Rita Ray's.
It's been a year since Becky first saw the site, but now looking around The North's first female-focused sports bar, she feels an immense sense of pride - and support from those around her and the wider community.
“The reaction before opening has been so welcoming and supportive. It’s been crazy on social media, but there have also been some not-so-nice messages and they seem to be Facebook, but that reaction is telling - it shows why we need the spaces.”
A space for all sports fans
Whilst the bar will champion the rise of women's sports, showing the biggest games across four high-definition screens at the bar, it will show as much sport - from across men's and women's competitive sports - as possible, with men and women's sport shown in equal measure. Importantly, it's also family friendly and about being a hub for all sports fans.
“I love sports, women’s sports, men’s sports, all sports, ok there’s some I’m not the biggest fan of, but I’m not going to say that they shouldn’t be on the TV - this space is for all of us. Everyone supports different teams, or likes different sports, and there’s this misconception that it’s for women only. But it's a space where women can come and watch sports, whether that’s men's sports, women’s sports.”
“A lot of our customers last night were men, and I'm pleased that they aren’t buying into the stereotype online that it’s just for women to watch women’s sports. It’s for everyone to watch sports. We’ve got four TVs in here, they can all show different sports. We can have the WSL on one, then the Championship on another, we can have women’s golf, men’s golf, cricket, rugby. Anything that’s possible to show we will show.”
Family-friendly and welcoming
“It’s a place where families can also bring their children. I wouldn’t bring my three year old niece to any old sports bar, but here I could. She loves football, and she doesn’t know any different. She watches women play football, whereas when I was at school, teachers would say ‘you can’t play football’. The next generation won’t have that.”
Around the bar, customers will notice trinkets, memorabilia and even some sports equipment, but two faces pop up frequently - Becky's grandma and grandad. Huge sports fans, Rita and Ray have not only instilled a passion for sport in Becky, but also the bar's name.
“They loved golf, that’s where I get it from, especially my grandad, that’s all he did when he retired, but they played it all the time, travelled the world with friends playing it too. I still go to their golf club where they played. They loved life, they were the life and soul of every room, of every party. Even this just being somewhere that carries that spirit on a little bit - anyone is welcome here, they can watch any sport and have a nice drink while doing it.”
Drinks and future plans
Cocktails are divided between Rita's and Ray's with nods to their favourite tipples and names. Guests can choose from the likes of Spicy Rita using El Rayo Blanco Tequila; Ray's Revival, featuring dark rum, Campari and pineapple; and Ray of Sunshine with Wray & Nephew, passionfruit and lime. Cocktails are priced between £11 and £12 and there's even Tommy's Margarita on draft.
On the taps, they have ten options including their own lager, Guinness, Galway Stout, Estrella, Asahi, Damn Lemon, and Neck Oil and Gamma Ray American Pale Ale. Sports fans can rejoice too at the daily happy hour which runs from 4pm until 6pm. Between then house pints are £4, while the draft margarita is £5.50, and house cocktails £8 a pop.
“It was important to me that it wasn’t just a marketing tactic or a tagline, and that we actually support women. Double Dutch do our mixers and they’re women owned too. All our house wines are selected because every bottle bought, they give money back to provide sanitary products in South Africa. There’s quite a few stories about all our drinks but I won’t give them all away.”
“There’s a stereotype or misconception that being a football fan means you’re happy to spend £7 on a warm pint just because that’s what you do at the pub. You can come and watch sport here, have a nice drink, a cocktail or glass of wine - it’s not a one box fits all.”
Fans might notice Becky sporting a very exclusive, custom-made football shirt too bearing the Rita Ray's branding and logo. “These were made by Icarus, and these will be for sale, as well as the yellow caps with illustrations done by NowNotWhen, who have done all our branding from text and logos and the menus.”
Above all else though, the bar is about smashing stereotypes around sports fans and creating a space where everyone feels welcome.
“I love football, I love all sports, my sister doesn’t really like sports at all. But it’s somewhere nice we can go together, she can have a nice cocktail, she doesn’t need to be glued to the TV - it’s not the only thing going on. On days when there’s not big sporting events we can host other events here - pottery classes, crafting, sip and paint, have local artists do pop-ups, or art classes - and even run clubs or join up with the Pilates studio here, it doesn’t solely need to be just about sports.”
“Everyday we seem to get more messages about collaborating, especially local women’s clubs or amateur teams wanting their end-of-year awards and team socials, so that’s something we’re really keen to explore and partner with as many teams as possible. And get their photos and memorabilia on the walls, as well as team discounts for them.”
By creating a space where women's sport can be celebrated whilst both men's and women's games can be shown too, Becky is seeking to create that much-needed visibility, and show the younger generations that the country's sporting talent is rich, diverse and goes far beyond football.
“For a lot of young boys and girls that come in, you probably go into a lot of places and there’s a Ronaldo or Haaland shirt the wall, you see red or blue, but there is a world outside football. There’s a lot of incredible women who in this in this country alone have achieved a lot, Until you start digging you don’t know, because it’s not in your face, but if someone sees an achievement on the wall here and asks the staff you learn because they are then on your radar.”
