TheBuzz
TheBuzz
A business built on firsts
A new player has jumped into the Honolulu dating scene. It's Just Lunch is the Hawaii franchise of a 10-year-old San Diego-based dating service for busy professionals. One of its tenets is that the only reason for a first date is to determine whether there should be a second date.
When did the newest kid in town open for business? "Today," owner Linda Markt said yesterday.
The former nurse administrator at Wahiawa General Hospital had been seeking a business opportunity when she saw an advertisement for the It's Just Lunch possibility.
"I loved the concept," she said. "It's mostly the people skills and assessment skills I have as a nurse."
Markt is the exclusive Oahu franchisee. "Our population won't support another office at this point," she said. Her office is in Pioneer Plaza, where the busy professional fish are biting.
Prospective clients are told what to expect during an initial phone call -- including the rate, which on an introductory basis is $995 for a 12-month membership; it includes a minimum of 12 first dates, she said. The Web site at www.itsjustlunch.com quotes a rate of $1,500, which is what the Hawaii franchise will charge "when we get established," Markt said.
That's not cheap. "It's an investment in their social life," she said, "and we don't do dreadful videos. We don't do any videos."
"We coordinate busy schedules," she said. "We find things they'll be interested in. That will be the trump card so they can start conversations more easily and it'll be low-stress."
The company chooses the restaurants it sends first-date-folk to "based on the fact that they'll treat our clients well, that they'll make it comfortable and fun." Restaurant staff will know they are serving a "Just Lunch" couple, Markt said.
Clients are set up for face time with a potentially compatible date for lunch, brunch or possibly drinks after work, "but never ever dinner," according to the Web site. There's no first-date-kiss pressure that way.
The company's competitors, according to business information publisher Hoover's Inc., are MatchMaker International and Together Dating. MatchMaker International does not do business in Hawaii but Together's sister-company The Right One has offices on Piikoi Street. MatchMaking Introductions Hawaii, another company, is in Waikiki.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com