Lovelorn New Yorkers are ditching popular dating apps for an old-fashioned way of finding a soulmate – at face-to-face meetups in Big Apple hangouts that can use the business.
These “in real life” (IRL) experiences are organized by a new group of matchmakers – such as Closer, Parlor Social Club and The Dinner Table Club – that offer social interaction beyond texting and sending memes.
The apps help New Yorkers expand their social circles over dinners, cocktails and cultural events.
Some have even made more personal connections.
E.K.M. Watson, a 27-year-old Parlor member who goes by Emma, broke the ice with the future love of her life during a “cocktail mixer” at 48 Lounge in Midtown.
Parlor pals introduced Watson to fellow member Emil Galiev, a 28-year-old software engineer. Their relationship blossomed at follow-up events.
“It was just me and him chatting and then we went to some concerts and yada yada yada, we were engaged,” she told Side Dish.
Watson, who works in accounting in the film and TV industry, asked one of her Parlor friends to be her bridesmaid when the Jersey City couple tie the knot in September 2026.
The restaurants and other venues where ticketed events are held are also falling in love – with the guaranteed revenue the gatherings generate on what could otherwise be slow nights.
Gary Wallach, managing director of Renwick Hospitality, has partnered with IRL groups to host various-themed events at Renwick’s trendy lounges and restaurants inside hotels like Motto by Hilton in Chelsea and Times Square and at the Arlo Hotel in Soho.
The events range from seasonal communal dinners organized by Dinner Table Club at Lindens to a monthly meetup for members of microgroup DeSciNYC, where science “enthusiasts” can learn, share projects and socialize.
The in-person events “spark people’s interest in meeting new people in person and getting off their devices,” Wallach has observed.
They’re also good for the bottom line, bringing in anywhere from “$500 to $2,000, plus the revenue incurred before or after the event, according to Wallach.
“We have significant space, so sometimes we can host groups that don’t negatively affect busy moments, but we do look for opportunities to drive revenue on slower days whenever possible,” Wallach said.
The growth of IRL group meets – which first gained popularity after COVID lockdowns were finally lifted in the city – has also accelerated partly as a rebuke to the exclusive and exorbitantly-priced private clubs that have sprouted, added Closer co-founder David Burstein, 36.
“We aren’t super elitist or obnoxious. We are here for everyone,” Burstein said.
And as so much of life moves online, making a “place and space for human connection” is vital.
“What if you are 35 and you look around at your friends and think they aren’t your people. Where do you go?” Burstein asks. “That’s the most foundational and important problem and it’s the one thing that is AI proof — finding space to meet other people, to have a human connection.”
At Closer, a “curated membership platform for connection,” people meet for an in-person “screener” event, and then members can join events from dinners to cocktails, yoga and wine, to weekend share houses in the Hamptons, Berkshires and upstate.
The intro costs $35 and includes the first three months of membership. From there, it’s $20 a month.
The platform has been a success, expanding from New York to Denver and Washington, DC. Closer will also be launching in Toronto, LA, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Austin, Montreal, Sydney and Melbourne.
In New York, Parlor hosts around 100 events a month. Members pay $40 a month, or $70 for an upgraded premium service, which offers more upscale events based on algorithms that match like-minded people.
“New Yorkers tend to be closed off. They just need a safe space to open up and let people into their lives,” said Helena Simon, a Parlor employee who met her current life partner at one of its get-togethers.
Parlor started in a physical space before going digital in 2019. They now have 6,000 members in New York and opened outposts in Miami and Chicago, with more cities to follow.
The Dinner Table Club, co-founded by 26-year-old Tyler Tep and his former roommates in 2023, recently held a sold-out dinner at 1803 NYC, a Cajun-Creole “elevated” eatery in Tribeca, at $80 a ticket.
There is no membership fee to join. Dinners cost around $75 to $100 a person and include a three course meal, a glass of wine or a cocktail, tax, tip and social dining programing.
“Our events are open, available to anyone looking to attend our dinner parties and build community in New York and beyond,” Tep said.
Dinners are typically from 7 pm to 10 pm with cocktails and then a sit-down family style meal, where people switch seats in between courses to mingle.
Others venues that have hosted the often small, intimate events include Altair, ART Rooftops, Lulla, The Alderman, Foxtail, Lindens at Arlo Soho, Loulou and Ferdi Ristorante.
Tep, a Washington, DC transplant to New York, launched his IRL after hosting dinner parties for friends and noticing the demand.
The Dinner Table Club currently operates in New York, Washington, DC, LA and Miami and is expanding to Chicago, San Francisco and Boston next.
“We have been very lucky. All of our people know what they are getting into and have the same purpose and intent,” he said.
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