The Hottest Social Scene in Town Isn’t the Singles’ Bar. It’s the Supermarket

Wall Street Journal ^ | 3/10/18 | Anne Marie Chaker

[Rebelbase]

When Bob Schneider goes out on a Friday night, he no longer heads to the local singles bar. Instead, he goes to the grocery store.

“I once dated a woman from the potato section at Mariano’s,” says Mr. Schneider, a 67-year-old semiretired, twice-divorced lobbyist in Oak Brook, Ill. “The next thing you know we’re at the wine bar and then we’re dating.”

Supermarkets—those havens of the not-so-scintillating chore of scouring numbered aisles, pushing carts and perusing produce—are finding a new identity as a social hub in communities. Parents now bring their children here to play, retirees gather for Bingo, and singles find romance.

Grocery stores are fulfilling the new role as traditional gathering spots, from shopping malls to social clubs like Lions Clubs and Rotary International, continue to shrink from decades-earlier peaks. Malls, in particular, are in danger of extinction. Credit Suisse has projected that up to 25% of malls will close over the next five years, as the internet continues to reshape the way Americans shop.

[Rebelbase]

Never had any luck in the produce section. I once asked a beautiful woman if she knew how to prepare squash and she told me to stuff it.

[GotMojo]

I recall Dean Wormer’s wife liked the produce aisle....

[blackdog]

Great. Just when I got used to dealing with alcoholics I have to re-tool for eating disorders?!

[DIRTYSECRET]

I like the melons.

[jdsteel]

I am waiting for a woman to ask me if that’s a banana in my cart or am I just happy to see her!

[Gay State Conservative]

There's a Wegman’s Supermarket scheduled to open near me in a month or so.I've read that Wegman’s is so fantastic that they even have fan clubs in areas where they're located.I just hope that I don't weigh 400 pounds a year from now.

[blackdog]

Ok. So as a middle ground I can hang out in the beer section to find my alcoholic dates and spot those eating disorders based on what is in their carts!

The bulemics have ice cream and potato chips and the anorexics load up on lemons and laxatives.

[bgill]

Truth, last time I went to the grocery store (a couple weeks ago), I was appalled at how nasty, scruffy and ugly everyone was. Nixed most of the list to get out of there asap.

[BunnySlippers]

Gelson’s (a high end market here in LA) just recently put in a Tapas Bar with wine and IPAs ... right next to their Wolfgang Puck wood burning pizza ovens. A very convivial drinking stop that draws many male customers.

Since I gave up my TV, it’s where I go ti watch the Dodger’s World Series and the Lakers in the Play Offs.

[a fool in paradise]

Next time try a grocer that has a velvet rope line to get in.

[bgill]

Vegans won't be shopping at the new 99 Ranch Market that is opening today in Austin.

[anton]

Choosing a grocery is now like choosing a bar. You do not just stumble in to any store lest you have to endure the wrong kind of people. And, you have to pay attention to when you go. Tuesday at 10AM is a great time to buy baby food. Meeting women? Not so much.

[a fool in paradise]

Does this mean People of Wal-Mart are going to be breeding with one another?

[Yo-Yo]

"Mine's bigger."

[jetson]

My supermarkets are full of the walking dead, mutants and Mexicans.

[crusty old prospector]

Not sure what that yellow thing is but it reminds me of a toilet plunger.

[a fool in paradise]

Saturday and Sunday afternoons tend to be families out shopping. Evening rush hour is easy to spot singles just off work grabbing something to eat for the night.

Sunday night and other 8pm+ times seem to be more singles stocking up. Unless it is an emergency provision, most families are at home by then.

[Noumenon]

Yeah, we’ve got some People of Wal-Mart grade shoppers here at the Safeway at the junction of Hwy 41 and Hwy 2. North Idaho.

[a fool in paradise]

Oh, Safeway.

[a fool in paradise]

BINGO!