Draft:Kristiana Mallo

On March 20, 2024, Chattanooga, Tenn. local Kristiana Mallo opened the city’s first-ever female-forward bar alongside her business partner Bailey Cole. After owning and operating Cashew, a restaurant in front of one of the city’s major landmarks, Coolidge Park, for ten years, the women decided to create a new bar dedicated to celebrating women.

As Mallo and Cole conducted research to create their bar, they found that there is only one other bar in the nation that celebrates women the way Broads does. Broads’ website invites customers to one of the few bars of its kind as they also support fellow female-owned businesses.

Over 95% of the spirits, beer, and wine at Broads are from woman-owned or women-led brands. Their mission is to highlight women-owned /led companies and overall the business is modeled to celebrate and empower women. Broads’ goal is to create an inclusive space that is focused on celebrating women, honoring women in history, and uplifting women who are currently making history today. The drinks on the menu are named after notable women, and the owners have decorated the bar with art and portraits honoring remarkable women.

"Because there's so many things that are owned by men and so many things have been run by men,” Kristiana Mallo said. “We really wanted to do the opposite — create a really feminine, sexy place."

After decades of food service experience, Mallo is proud to be able to offer a place for women specifically to come and enjoy themselves in an environment they know will be safe.

According to an article written by William Chen for Rising Rock media publication, “Cole and Mallo want BROADS to serve as a community hub, creating an all-inclusive atmosphere for all walks of life.”

Mallo and Cole have created a team of women that each bring a unique passion for bartending and connecting with people and they know these women will succeed in leading the bar.

In a video created to advertise Broads, Mallo said, “while we plan to have a creative and interesting menu of cocktails, we also intend to offer a full selection of low ABV and alcohol-free drinks as well. We want everyone to have a comfortable seat at our bar regardless of their personal choices regarding the consumption of alcohol.”

The Chattanooga Times Free Press featured the business in November 2023, giving the women a chance to share the story behind Broads.

Reporter Ellen Gerst wrote, “The bar began as an idea tossed around for years between Bailey Cole and Kristiana Mallo, owners of the North Chattanooga vegan restaurant Cashew.”

Gerst described how Mallo and Cole always discussed different business ideas, but the more they fantasized about Broads, the more determined they were to make it happen.

Carrying on the theme of celebrating women, Mallo and Cole have created signature cocktails with names pertaining to female icons.

The drinks' names such as “Swiftie Sour” “Death Becomes Her” and “The L Word” are mostly targeted to women and are meant to attract women as well. They give off a feminine vibe.

Mallo and Cole ultimately strived to create a space that celebrates women, brings them together, and sparks feminine power within the space. With everything being so prominently male-dominated, it is important, now more than ever that we come together in these ways to uplift women and aim to see more female power in the future.