A thing you might not realize about your awkward Tinder date at the bar is that everyone else around you probably realizes it’s an awkward Tinder date. There’s something about the body language, the stilted conversation, the way you keep sneaking glances at your date’s face because the Tinder profile pic was so small (or possibly a Waffle House). The folks behind Bushwick’s Alphaville bar noticed this a lot too, so they built a special around it to ease your date jitters: prove you’re on a Tinder date, and you’ll get a free shot, from Monday through Wednesday.
“It was just a joke that bar manager Kait Browne put up there when we got that sign,” bar owner Skyler Insler said. “As a bartender, you can almost always spot which customers are on a Tinder/OkCupid date because of a certain kind of awkwardness they exude. But the free shots are definitely a real thing that happens now!”
How do you actually prove you’re on a Tinder date? You can probably pull out your phone and show your match, if you’re brave enough to give the bartender a peek at your Tinder pickup lines.
It’s probably a good litmus test for the relationship. If you try to get free shots at a bar does your date think you’re cheap or appreciate your initiative?” Insler asks. “Shooottttssss. Shots is the answer.”
Alphaville also has some famous chicken “Nugz,” if you’re into eating birds, and shows in the back, so this could turn into quite the well-rounded date by the end of the night.
Alphaville is located at 140 Wilson Ave., between Willoughby and Suydam streets in Bushwick.