Local coffee shops plays matchmaker with Love Lab event

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - Tired of dating apps? Swiping left and right now working for you? Well, one local coffee shop may have the event you’re looking for.

The Source, in downtown Sioux Falls, is playing matchmaker. Their second Love Lab of the year is in just a couple of weeks.

The pandemic kept many of us apart throughout the past year, but The Source is trying to bring people back together through speed dating.

“Coffee is centered around community and conversation, and I think it’s important to bring people back to the core of conversation, face to face,” Kristin Chau, the owner of The Source Coffee Roastery and Taproom, said.

Chau got the idea when she lived in Denver and has always wanted to bring it to Sioux Falls.

“I’m really excited to bring it here, to allow people to get off of the online platforms of dating and to connect in person,” Chau said.

Amy Muller, a barista at The Source, says their first Love Lab event, last month, was a huge success.

“You can create an atmosphere that’s very relaxed and comfortable, where people can kind of takedown those barriers and just start having fun with each other,” Muller said.

That Love Lab event targeted those ages 25 to 40. April’s Love Lab is for 30 to 45-year-olds, and Muller expects it to be a big hit again.

“Once you start going back and forth with someone in conversation you can quickly realize that you just have to be yourself,” Muller said.

Love Lab works by letting participants move from table to table and have a casual, three-minute, conversation.

If there is a mutual interest, The Source will match the couple up following the event.

“Our community deserves to come together again, re-engage, and have those conversations,” Chau said. “And, we are just such a safe place for that to happen, so we really do foster those relationships and conversations, and hope that people show up.”

Love Lab is happening Thursday, April 22.

Pre-registration is $15 and required by April 19.

To register, click here.

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