When you travel solo, you eat solo. That’s just a rule of the road. And while some people (cough) love eating alone, it’s not everybody’s bag. So when OpenTable teamed up with Virginia Tourism to launch a solo diner matchmaking service called OpenSeat, extroverted travelers everywhere (probably) rejoiced.
Food & Wine wrote yesterday that over 30 restaurants in Virginia will participate in the pilot program—which is totally voluntary for users.
But this news was met with, dare we say, revulsion, and the hot takes went flying. Dining with strangers? That sounds horrifying! Websites like The Spoon published horrified takes on the program. Chris Albrecht wrote that coworkers were calling it “creepy” and “awkward.” And, he said that they’re not wrong, reasoning,
At least on dating apps people can see and swipe others before communicating. Having someone get automatically seated at your table sounds like a recipe for social disaster. How does one gracefully excuse themselves when some jerk pulls up a chair and starts yapping about his collection of exotic teeth?
Yes, it’s a bit of a gamble to say yes to dinner with a complete stranger. And particularly as a woman, the thought of doing the complicated calculus of safety versus sociability in dating immediately comes to mind.
But…
You literally do not have to use it if you don’t want to. It’s not an opt-out program; it’s not something that the participating restaurants make you do if you’re a solo diner. You have to choose to participate. Which means that if you’re extremely introverted and the thought of small talk for a few hours makes you want to crawl out of your skin, or if you have (very legitimate) concerns about the safety of dining with a stranger you haven’t vetted, you don’t have to do it. You can Nope right out, before ever opting in.
As someone who prefers a nice book and people watching to small talk, I won’t be an early adapter of the OpenSeat app. In fact, you’d probably have to pay me to even try it. But that doesn’t make it a bad idea. If you want to take a gamble—say, you’re in a new Virginia city and you want to meet people—it sounds like a cool idea.
(via Food & Wine.)
