Lunch app puts 'social' back in 'social media'

Among the tables of friends, co-workers and couples enjoying lunch at a popular Pittsburgh restaurant, one group shared a unique situation.

None of the four people at the table had ever met.

Yet these strangers all had at least one thing in common — they all used SitWith, a new app developed by an AlphaLab startup that connects four unacquainted people for a casual meal.

“We want to do for friendships what online dating did for relationships,” says Will Lutz, a Carnegie Mellon University graduate student and SitWith co-founder. “We believe that people are great at making homogeneous friend groups. Everyone who you're friends with tends to be very much like you. There's a lot of value in branching out.”

SitWith, developed by Lutz, fellow CMU grad student Terry Yang and University of California, Riverside, doctoral candidate Patrick Morse, has been based out of the South Side AlphaLab space since June. The Android app launched this summer. An iOS app release is expected later in September.

Seventy people have used SitWith so far, Lutz says. The only cost for participants is their meals. Lunches are held Mondays through Wednesdays at the Harris Grill, Union Grill or Sharp Edge Bistro.

SitWith stemmed from Morse's research into first impressions. He found that controlling the information people have about someone prior to meeting him/her can result in more substantial connections. It's also rooted in society's reliance on social media and how it can actually hinder opportunities to meet new people, Lutz says.

“The way that people used to do it is via Lions Clubs and Rotary Clubs,” he says. “Our generation doesn't do that to socialize any more. We do Facebook. We call it social, but it's not really social. We wanted to provide the outlet that lets you socialize.”

Participants are given a reservation name and are required to arrive on time. They are asked not to exchange last names or business cards during the meal.

“We want you to be able to go and not feel pressured to perform,” Lutz says. “We ask if you're going to exchange contact info, you do it after the bill is paid and you're leaving the table so there's no awkwardness there.”

There is no set demographic requirement for each lunch — participants are not selected based on gender nor age. They just have to be at least 18 years old.

There is no screening process, but users can flag participants to alert the company to inappropriate users. Lutz says the model of the experience doesn't lend itself to predators.

“You don't know who you'll be sitting with until you get there,” Lutz says. “If they're looking for something, they're looking for something specific. When they go into the interaction, they don't know if they're going to meet an attractive woman or a 50-year-old Marine gunnery sergeant who just retired.”

While some lunchgoers experience a little trepidation at first, many become repeat users, Lutz says.

“We work to make it less scary,” he says. “There's always four people as opposed to two, so it doesn't feel like some awkward blind date, more like you're hanging out with friends.”

Four participants of a recent lunch at Sharp Edge Bistro — Kevin Manley, 30, of Squirrel Hill; Mark Restelli, 49, of Cranberry; Emily Keebler, 35, of Morningside; and James Lomuscio, 25, of Highland Park — had no trouble getting conversation started. SitWith itself provided an instant topic, and they soon moved on to local attractions, travel and home repairs.

Keebler sees SitWith as an ideal tool for tourism bureaus.

“When I go to a new city, I like to try the local places and meet people from that area,” she says.

Manley appreciates the app's ability to connect him with people he'd otherwise never meet.

“You're expanding your horizons,” Manley says of the experience. “There are always places to hang out with people who are into the same things as you.”

Details: www.sitwith.co

Rachel Weaver is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-320-7948 or rweaver@tribweb.com.