A Pairfect match: Penn student partners with Philadelphia café to change how people date
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Nowadays, swiping right or left on an app has become part of the modern-day dating scene, but one local grad student hopes to change how people find love while uplifting small businesses.
Inside Nook Bakery and Coffee Bar in Center City, each latte is made with freshly roasted beans and topped with a pinch of love.
"Every morning, I get to go to work and spend the day with my wife," co-founder Michael Caro said.
Edna Cruz and Caro have been working side-by-side together for 18 years. For over a decade, their coffee shop has been the backdrop for countless meetings, introductions and first dates.
"We really want to be a hub for the community," Caro said.
That mission is now expanding.
The two partnered with a Philadelphia-based online matchmaking service, Pairfect, to provide couples a safe spot to meet at a discounted price.
"It really tied in nicely with our concept of people meeting in a coffee shop," Caro said.
University of Pennsylvania grad student Annie Xu is a social worker and therapist. She launched and founded the service in October after noticing her clients and friends needed a more relatable way to date.
"They really struggle with things like feeling like it's very superficial," Xu said.
The company's focus goes beyond who you date, but also where you date, which makes the experience unique from other services.
"We're also mindful of our user's safety as best as we can," Xu said. "We want to partner with areas where generally there's coffee shops, bakeries, restaurants where there will be other people around too."
As of now, there are about 1,200 users subscribed to the service. According to Pairfect, on average, they've facilitated in-person dates at 12 times the rate other dating apps do.
Users rank preferences, fill out a profile and meet with a matchmaker before the first date.
And even though Caro and Cruz didn't meet online, they'd welcome the chance to have their coffee shop be the start of a perfect match.
"We'd be over the moon," Caro said.
