A toast to meeting that special someone 'Down the hatch'

A toast to meeting that special someone 'Down the hatch' dating

August 24, 2007

By Stephanie Kohl Special to the Courier News

People have resorted to sneaking out of restroom windows, faking an illness and having a friend call about an "emergency" to escape a bad date.

Let's Grab a Drink!, a new online dating site, aims to dispel the need for such excuses.

After having conversations with friends who were burned out on dating, John Mamalakis took his friends seriously when they said it would be great only to commit to having one drink with someone to decide if they were interested and created www.letsgrabadrink.com.

"The market is saturated with online dating sites, and I thought there was space for something different and unique," Mamalakis said.

Mamalakis created six different categories based on people who order certain drinks. For example, an established professional with a history of success would fall into the martini category. An attention-seeking, fun-loving, outrageous person would likely be a shot.

The drinks are featured on the Web site's home page along with pictures of people who fit into those categories. Users can select a drink and browse through other profiles. Should a user find someone they are interested in, they can send a secure message via the Web site. Members may continue to communicate via e-mail until they feel comfortable meeting each other in person.

One of the site's goals was to be simplistic. In his research, Mamalakis found many dating sites had elaborate and cumbersome questionnaires that can take the better part of an hour to complete. He wanted to eliminate that and have a quicker, less-formal way of getting to know who a person is.

To create a profile, a member must enter basic information about their age, occupation, religious preferences, level of education and what they are looking for. It then allows the person to select what kind of drink they are and enter information into "About Me" and "Interests" boxes.

"The idea was to put in some basic elements so people get an idea of your educational level, your career and religious preferences and what you're looking for," Mamalakis said.

Mamalakis plans to make some changes to the site in the near future, like adding a quiz for those unsure of what type of drink they are. It also will be expanding nationally, instead of only operating in Illinois, California, Texas, New York and Minnesota.

"The purpose of Let's Grab a Drink! is to allow you to minimize the length of the initial meeting," according to the Web site. "Who wants to sit through an awkward and uncomfortable dinner? Let's Grab a Drink! and see how things go."