NEW YORK: He who eats alone, an old Arab proverb says, chokes alone. Fortunately for New Yorkers, they will always have somebody to share their meal with at the Lunch Club.
A New York institution with more than 8,800 members who have attended hundreds of lunches, brunches or dinners, game nights, gallery tours or book readings, the Lunch Club has become so popular, that it is planning to launch new chapters across the US, in Germany, the UK, France, and maybe even Dubai.
The concept is simple and successful: Strangers meet through an Internet service, come together and share a meal "because eating alone is boring", according to the organisation's slogan.
At a recent lunch in Manhattan, 14 participants met at a trendy Moroccan-Israeli restaurant called Mogador. Most of them did not know each other. "I moved to the city a year ago and wanted to meet people," said Stephanie Wagner, 28, a nurse. "Each one of them has been a blast and I actually made some friends here."
Next to Wagner sat Todd Gareiss, 35, a property owner who administers his buildings in Vermont. He has lived in New York for 15 years but this was his first time at the Lunch Club.
"I get bored during the day because I am not working and all my friends are busy," said Gareiss. "I really enjoyed the company and the conversations today. It's nice how they introduce you right away."
The Lunch Club is a free service that offers all different kinds of social gatherings from speed friending to chocolate tasting or yoga workshops. Newcomers sign up online and fill out a profile. They receive invitations for the events and can also communicate on the Web with each other.
"People from all walks of life meet at our events and become friends," said Jared Nissim, 32, who created the lunch meetings in December 2001. "However, if you're looking for romance, you're wrong. We're not a dating service."
Nissim first posted an ad on Craig's List. He asked for "complete and total strangers to have lunch with me" because at that time he was working from home as a technical writer and spent all day by himself.
"There was a real void in my life then," Nissim said. At the first lunch only three people showed up. But they enjoyed the meal and the company so much that they kept posting new ads for get-togethers and as the lunch crowd grew bigger and bigger, Nissim created his own webpage
A New York institution with more than 8,800 members who have attended hundreds of lunches, brunches or dinners, game nights, gallery tours or book readings, the Lunch Club has become so popular, that it is planning to launch new chapters across the US, in Germany, the UK, France, and maybe even Dubai.
The concept is simple and successful: Strangers meet through an Internet service, come together and share a meal "because eating alone is boring", according to the organisation's slogan.
At a recent lunch in Manhattan, 14 participants met at a trendy Moroccan-Israeli restaurant called Mogador. Most of them did not know each other. "I moved to the city a year ago and wanted to meet people," said Stephanie Wagner, 28, a nurse. "Each one of them has been a blast and I actually made some friends here."
Next to Wagner sat Todd Gareiss, 35, a property owner who administers his buildings in Vermont. He has lived in New York for 15 years but this was his first time at the Lunch Club.
"I get bored during the day because I am not working and all my friends are busy," said Gareiss. "I really enjoyed the company and the conversations today. It's nice how they introduce you right away."
The Lunch Club is a free service that offers all different kinds of social gatherings from speed friending to chocolate tasting or yoga workshops. Newcomers sign up online and fill out a profile. They receive invitations for the events and can also communicate on the Web with each other.
"People from all walks of life meet at our events and become friends," said Jared Nissim, 32, who created the lunch meetings in December 2001. "However, if you're looking for romance, you're wrong. We're not a dating service."
Nissim first posted an ad on Craig's List. He asked for "complete and total strangers to have lunch with me" because at that time he was working from home as a technical writer and spent all day by himself.
"There was a real void in my life then," Nissim said. At the first lunch only three people showed up. But they enjoyed the meal and the company so much that they kept posting new ads for get-togethers and as the lunch crowd grew bigger and bigger, Nissim created his own webpage
全站熱搜
留言列表
