The state’s first sports bar for women will open in Omaha this December.
“SET the Bar” in Omaha is being opened as a place where women’s sports are put first. Co-owner Molly Huyck wants to create a place that’s different from a traditional bar.
“It’s definitely a place where everyone is welcome, and we’ll play, you know, a handful of men’s games, but when there’s women’s sports on that will be the primary focus,” Huyck said.
SET the Bar’s layout will reflect its women-oriented and community focused mindset. Huyck said the bar will have a lower bar height and fewer TVs. It will show a select few games so everyone can watch together.
The owners want to use the space to bring the community together for social events with a focus on improving Benson and helping neighbors. They want to involve nonprofits to educate the community.
Huyck said that volleyball will be a huge part of SET the Bar’s focus.
Women’s sports are taking off across the nation, and Nebraska is no exception. The state has two professional volleyball teams and a record 92,003 fans attended Volleyball Day in Nebraska at Memorial Stadium last year.
Huyck said they decided on the name because of the different ways it could be interpreted.
“Besides setting the bar for women, we can also play off the word and with all the different sports meanings,” Huyck said.
Keara Sell is a Husker volleyball fan from Scottsbluff who hopes the trend will continue.
“I hope that that bar can do well in Omaha, and then it’s more likely, you know, to come to Lincoln,” Sell said. “And then from Lincoln, maybe Kearney.”
It will be the seventh women’s sports bar to launch in the U.S., according to a press release from SET the Bar.