Custer and Dimas
19th Ave E has come alive with the sounds of cheering fans and clinking glasses at Pitch the Baby, the new Capitol Hill sports bar that is rewriting the playbook on gameday culture.
The bar has been open in a kind of preseason mode as the new operations ramps up and prepares for this Friday’s grand opening. CHS huddled with owners Ani Custer and Monica Dimas to learn about their unconventional approach that’s already drawing crowds.
Let’s start with the name which comes from an idea that may seem as far from sportsball as you can get.
“It is a Cocteau Twins song about childbirth from an album that Monica just loves,” Custer says. The owners leaned into the quirky vibe, noting it “kind of sounded to us like cutesy, kind of sportsy, like a little bit of League of Their Own.” Dimas added with a laugh, “It shouldn’t be that deep.”
While the newly installed big screens show plenty of sports action, the owners designed Pitch the Baby to stand out from typical sports bars. “The goal was to make a sports bar with offerings that you would want, even if you’re not there to watch a game,” Custer told CHS.
The offerings Pitch the Baby hopes to pair with Storm tip-offs, Reign kick-offs, and LPGA tee-offs are also game-worthy on their own.
“We have wings on the menu, we just want to make sure that whatever we’re doing is a little bit more complicated,” Dimas said. The menu focuses on elevated pub fare designed for sharing, with plans to expand offerings when their full kitchen opens.
There is sports bar food, to be sure, but it is presented through the flavors and cultures of the owners. The wings? They’re Alas de Pollo with salt and pepper. You will mess with the Tex-Mex Queso. And the big plates include the torta and some all-star caliber tacos.
The bar’s teaming of excellence behind the bar, in the kitchen, and in women’s athletics is coming together nicely. “We focus on women’s sports, which is a market that is flourishing in a way that’s really inspirational to see and yet, still a market that I don’t think gets the wide appreciation that it deserves,” Custer said.
The response has revealed a generational divide. Dimas noted some older male customers have asked, “Are we allowed here?” while younger patrons immediately get it: “Kids who walk in are just like, so stoked.”
Custer reflected on the cultural shift: “Do you love basketball? Or do you only like it when men play it? You’re assigning that the sport has to look a certain way based on who’s playing it. But like, is that inherently true to what it is to watch sports, which is watching people compete and do the best they can at their prime.”
Even in Pitch the Baby’s pre-season, there have already been iconic sports moments. One unforgettable pinnacle came during a women’s soccer match. “France versus Germany… the game was so riveting that people that just kind of walked by and just ended up coming in for it,” Custer recalled. “All of a sudden, the room was so captivated. At the end, I cried.”
These moments of shared sports love are coming in a special space as the Pitch team transformed the long-ago Kingfish Cafe into the new sports bar. Casual Mexican eatery Rocket Taco has made a move across the street and is now stretching out at 19th and Mercer in the space once home to Linda Derschang’s Tallulah’s.
The restaurant has undergone several transformations over the years. “It did take me 10 years to accept the Kingfish wasn’t coming back,” Custer joked about the location’s history.
PTB kept many original elements, including the bar. “What the fun part about this space is that, while we’ve updated a lot of infrastructure, I kind of actually like it,” Dimas said about their minimalist approach to renovations.
They are also appreciative of the help they got funding the project. The team was able to raise nearly $10,000 in support from crowdsource backers.
CHS broke the news in April on the new food and drink project fromDimas, Custer, and Kim “Kimfer” Flanery-Rye. Dimas is also hatching a rebirth of her Tortas Condesa concept that will share the space as part of the project.
Open over the past couple weeks and still putting finishing touches in place, Pitch the Baby is planning its official opening this Friday, August 9th.
Pitch the Baby has already established itself as more than just another sports bar. It has started its growth into community space where the energy of women’s athletics meets neighborhood camaraderie.
As Dimas put it, “We’re seeing all kinds of people finding their place here,” from grandparents enjoying afternoon beers to young fans getting their first taste of women’s sports. The hope is to be a great place to hangout in the neighborhood — if there is a game on or not.
Pitch the Baby opens soon at 600 19th Ave E. Learn more at pitchthebabybar.com.
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