Emily Lesher and Ann Freeman are opening a sports bar in Portland that will focus on showing women's games. (Courtesy photo)

The Sports Bra, a national sports bar chain dedicated exclusively to showing televised women’s games, will open its first location in Maine later this year in the current site of Noble Pizzeria & Barbecue in Portland.

Noble has announced its permanent closure, on July 12, after nine years. It moved to the Deering Center neighborhood in November 2024, from its original location on Outer Forest Avenue.

The new 118-seat venue at 476 Stevens Ave. will be operated by Ann Freeman, a lawyer at Bernstein Shur, and Emily Lesher, a chemistry professor at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, the owners said Tuesday via email.

Noble owner Ryan Carey suggested his space might be the perfect fit when Freeman and Lesher’s real estate agent was scouting locations.

Freeman and Lesher are working closely with Carey during the transition, offering Noble employees — there are about 20 — the opportunity to interview for potential rehire, they said. The space will undergo some updates to prepare for The Sports Bra’s grand opening at an undetermined date.

“Securing this fantastic location for The Sports Bra feels like fate,” Freeman said. “I knew instantly back then that this layout was perfect for a sports bar and the surrounding neighborhood would embrace this concept. Deering Center is an incredible, family-friendly neighborhood, and it has always been an ideal spot to bring my own family for dinner and a drink.”

Founded in April 2022, The Sports Bra is the first sports bar that exclusively televises women’s sports. In 2025, it announced it was expanding to Boston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas and St. Louis.

Stevens Avenue is home to a small cluster of businesses in a residential area that includes Longfellow Elementary, Lincoln Middle and Deering High schools, as well as University of New England’s Health Sciences Campus.

“It’s an impressive yet humble neighborhood with an incredible density of acclaimed women-owned businesses,” added Lesher. “People here are committed to a thriving and inclusive community. There is a backdrop of trails, sports fields and playgrounds, and it’s right along the 9A/9B Metro route, making it the perfect home base for what we represent.”

The Sports Bra Maine says it is committed to maintaining neighborhood traditions. The venue will continue to serve Noble-style pizza for both in-house dining and takeout, alongside what it describes as a creative, Pine Tree State twist on traditional pub fare.

Carey started Noble as a traveling wood-fired pizza business, then branched into barbecue and catering before opening a brick-and-mortar spot. Portland Press Herald critic Tim Cebula gave the restaurant a 3½-star review in 2025.

He said he is stepping back to prioritize family time with his three children. Carey, who lives an easy walk from the restaurant, bought the building in April 2024, when he was looking for a new project.

“And in October of ’24, about a month before we opened, we found out we were having another baby. To be totally honest and transparent, that in itself is a project.” (The family also has a new puppy.)

Carey launched the earlier iteration of Noble Barbecue when his older children were quite small; they are now 11 and 9. “I was never home. I missed out on a lot of their young, young years, and I really didn’t want to duplicate that for my third child.”

Carey said he will continue to run his catering business, Fire & Co., as well as the four booths he has each year at The Big E in Massachusetts.

“I am thrilled to be passing along the Deering Center baton to The Sports Bra,” Carey said in a media statement. “Before opening Noble, this location sat vacant for years. One of the main reasons I opened the restaurant was to prove that this neighborhood could support a business here, and residents did just that from day one. Knowing that Emily and Ann are active community members and share the values and mission of the original Sports Bra makes me incredibly proud. I know our regulars will continue to support this space, and I’ll be there with my own family on the regular.”

Noble Pizzeria & Barbecue, shown here in 2025, has announced it’s closing. <?xml version="1.0"?> Purchase this image

On the screens, the bar will champion local and regional powerhouses. While broadcasting national leagues such as the WNBA, NWSL, PWHL and NCAA sports, the venue will shine a spotlight on homegrown talent, including the Maine Mayhem, the women’s tackle football team, the Portland Women’s Rugby Club and local roller derby leagues.

It will also broadcast United Women’s Soccer teams such as Maine Footy and the Maine Mystics, as well as the highly anticipated Hearts of Pine women’s pre-professional team in the USL-W. Even high school sports will grace the big screens as events like the high school basketball playoffs have a special place in the Maine sports landscape.

Jenny Nguyen, founder and CEO of The Sports Bra, shared her enthusiasm for the location.

“The Sports Bra centers women’s sports and builds community around them,” she said. “Ann and Emily’s deep roots in Portland, paired with their understanding of what a welcoming, neighborhood space needs, make them the perfect stewards for this location.”

Nguyen said the space on Stevens Avenue is three times larger than the founding location in Portland, Oregon.

The momentum behind the expansion has been fueled heavily by the local community. Freeman and Lesher recently attended Portland Pride, where they received an enthusiastic reception. They said the LGBTQ+ community has been a pillar of the venture’s early success.

“The energy at Pride was absolutely electric, and it completely validated why we are doing this,” said Lesher. “From day one, the LGBTQ+ community has shown up for our watch parties with so much passion and joy. The Sports Bra Maine is built on the idea that everyone deserves a place where they feel seen and celebrated. To feel that love returned so fiercely at Pride shows just how ready Portland is for this space.”

Like the original Portland, Oregon, location, the Maine bar will be family friendly and will feature vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and dairy-free options. Aligned with the brand’s mission and Maine’s status as a national leader in women-led enterprises, the bar says it will prioritize sourcing products from local, women-owned and operated businesses.

Food Editor Peggy Grodinsky contributed to this story.