Inside the final day at Marsha’s — and how a controversy led to the women’s sports bar’s closure

Three hundred and ninety-four days ago, Marsha’s had a line trailing down South Street of people eager to experience the opening day of Philly’s first women’s sports bar.

Chivonn Anderson, the bar’s owner, described that day with tears in her eyes as one of her proudest moments.

“It was the culmination of my entire life. … It made me feel proud to be a queer person in Philly,” she said.

Just over a year later, the bar opened for its last day. The atmosphere inside the sparsely populated bar was grief-stricken, disappointed, and frustrated after six months of controversy led to the business shutting its doors.

“It’s hard when you’ve created something that’s your baby,” Anderson said. “I love my employees. I love the people who came here. This was a space for everybody, and I feel bad because I don’t know where those people are going to go.”

Marsha’s announced via Instagram on Thursday that the coming weekend would be the bar’s last.

Anderson told The Inquirer that the controversy surrounding a former employee, Olivia Rhodes, in April led to a sharp decline in turnout and was a direct reason for the bar’s closure.

Anderson said she decided to terminate Rhodes on April 17 after she “violated standard operating practices and procedures.”

Rhodes posted a video to social media on April 17 accusing Marsha’s, Anderson, and a former manager of fostering an unsafe environment for Black, trans, and queer people.

“Marsha’s has a long history of misogyny and racism that doesn’t align with the queer identity it claims or represents,” Rhodes said in the video. She did not respond to requests for comment.

» READ MORE: Philly women’s sports bar Marsha’s announces abrupt closure after just over a year

The post quickly generated an avalanche of engagement, with many people supporting Rhodes. In the aftermath, Marsha’s lost public support.

“The more I reflect on how we got to this point, I’m still in shock and disbelief,” Anderson said. “All the things that were said about me and my company are absolutely false. They’re not true.”

Anderson released multiple statements on social media and held community forums to discuss the incident to try to regain the community’s trust. However, she said, the bar was never fully able to bounce back.

Rhodes’ most recent post came after the announcement that Marsha’s was closing. She called the outcome “not a win” for her.

“I appreciate you all holding them accountable, and for showing your support and love for me,” Rhodes said in her video posted to social media Saturday.

“There were so many opportunities for Chivonn and management to stop it from getting to this point. They refused to have any type of conversations with me before, during, or after this whole situation. And because of that, and then tripling down on racism, misogyny, transphobia, and the retaliation, they put themselves in a position where they had no other choice but to close,” Rhodes’ video continued.

One of the recurring frustrations heard inside Marsha’s on Sunday was disappointment in the queer community and concern about the divide left in the bar’s wake.

“There’s a younger generation of folks who don’t realize how hard we’ve had to fight to have this space,” said Tiffany Thompson, a regular patron of Marsha’s. “This space is not a given.

“I’ve been angry at my community since the beginning of this, because of the way that we continue to not come together and think that that is actually liberation, and instead, it just keeps dividing.”

» READ MORE: Did law enforcement go overboard on an inspection of the only women’s sports bar in Philadelphia?

For Anderson, opening Marsha’s on South Street was tied to her own queer story. Through tears, she described a happy memory of hosting an event for The Attic, a space that supports LGBTQ+ youth.

“The Attic was the first place I ever felt seen as a 15-year-old coming out,” she said. “Hosting an event for them before all of this happened felt like life had come full circle. That scared little queer kid from Olney grew up to create a space for other people to feel that same sense of belonging.”

Some patrons and staff members who were there Sunday said Anderson had achieved that goal.

Veronica Badillo, known as Chef V, has worked as a chef at Marsha’s since it opened. She said the bar was her happy place. Bartender Lulu Jones said she felt similarly and that it was “truly one of the best jobs” she had.

“Too often, you hear people who get up and work and dread going,” Badillo said. “I never had that experience here. I was happy to come to work. I got to see people come to be happy here and feel like it was a no-judgment zone. Everyone was always welcome.”

Three hundred and ninety-four days after opening, the bar was no longer packed. The fridge that was once full of drinks was barren, and Marsha’s was consigned to Philly history.

“Even with this being the outcome, opening this place is still one of the best things I’ve ever done,” Anderson said. “We opened in 90 days without fundraisers or Kickstarter because people believed in this. The feelings are still similar to opening day — just mixed with grief.”