Grouper: The date. Not the fish.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote the first post in a series about being single in Los Angeles. As I mentioned before, my being single is always the topic of conversation and friends are always suggesting I meet so and so, you need to try this bar out, or yadda yadda. Well, my lovely co-worker Emily, suggested something I didn’t immediately shrug off. One word: Grouper.

No, not the fish.

What is it?

Grouper Social Club: It’s a company with a really cool concept. Sign up. Pick two wing women (or men, if you’re a dude). The website then set the three of you up with three other guys (all friends). It’s like a triple blind date. Next, Grouper sets up a day, time, and place. You pay $20 (service fee) which also covers the first round of drinks.

My friend, Emily, pointed out a great point which ultimately persuaded me to sign up – #Groupergrams. Just go to their website and look at all of the fun pictures Grouper dates have taken. They all look like they are having a damn good time. So, yeah. I signed up. I figured WTH.

Grouper has “karma points”. You get karma points for having friends sign up, when you go on a Grouper date, if the guys in the Grouper thought you were nice, if you showed up on time, etc. Anyways, those points keep adding up which earns you different VIP levels. I am a silver VIP, which means if I go on a one-on-one date with a guy I meet on a Grouper, they’ll buy our drinks. Sweet deal, right?

The Pros:

You have three guys to choose from. Options are good, people!

If you’re not into any of them – don’t worry about it. You are with two of your gal pals so you can still have an enjoyable night.

No worries about planning anything. All the details: reservations, day/time, are all taken care of. All you have to do is show up.

Safety. You’re not heading out to some dark bar meeting a stranger by yourself. 

The Cons:

It’s $20 before you even get to the bar/restaurant. Yes, it includes a drink, but who is going to have just one drink? And it’s dinner time, so most people, like myself, will order food. It’s clear Grouper has a deal/relationship with certain venues.

My first Grouper date:

I found two wingwomen, Kylie and Dana. Both of whom have participated in several of our OAM activities. They were both pretty gung ho about the whole thing, so I had to do little convincing. So, we paid our $20 and waited for Grouper to tell us where our Grouper date would be. A couple of days prior, they emailed us with the location: Fatty’s Public House in West Hollywood. Although the name doesn’t really scream “date”, it’s really a awesome place. Great music, lighting, menu, etc.

Dana and Kylie picked me up from work and we took off on our adventure. We walked into Fatty’s and right away the hostess asked us if we were with Grouper. What gave us away? Can’t three ladies enjoy a dinner together?   …sigh…

Anyways, we were escorted to a table where two men were sitting. Right away, I was like “What?! We got screwed! There’s only two!!” I may be on the bit dramatic side some time…anyways, the third guy was a late (a tad bit rude, but forgivable because of LA traffic). The guys were nice. They definitely weren’t really my type but I tried to keep an open mind. Again, at the very least, I was going to have an enjoyable night because I was with two of my girlfriends. We ordered some fancy mixed cocktails. We didn’t really care what was in them – we just wanted to order the most expensive drink on the menu. After all, the first round of drinks was free!

So there we are, sipping on some over-priced cocktails making small talk with some nice (i’ll just keep using that term) guys. We went around the table and shared our “Truths and a Lie” – something Grouper had us put together before we went on the date to use as an icebreaker. Each guy guessed which statement, out of our three, was a lie. We laughed. The food was amazing. The conversation was lovely. 

Our #GrouperGram

Funny thing: Right next to us was another Grouper date. Easy to spot. Three women on one side of the table, three guys on the other. We decided to join forces for a double #GrouperGram:

Although I didn’t meet a guy that tickled my fancy, one of my friends did. She went on a one-on-one date with the guy over the weekend. She described it as nice. So you know what that means…

In the end, us three ladies had a great time. I definitely didn’t regret the Grouper date and I would – and have – suggest other people use it (I got several people in my office to sign up).

Happy groupering,