Solo Dining

Website Links

Description

SoloDining.com is edited and published by Marya Charles Alexander, the "first & foremost" solo dining maven, according to Nation's Restaurant News, who "works both sides of the street" — counseling both restaurateurs and the public on all aspects of solo dining. A contributor to ThriftyTraveling.com newsletter, she has written pieces on solo dining for publications like WHERE New York Magazine, World Traveler (Northwest Airlines), Esquire, AARP's Modern Maturity, Sky (Delta Airlines), Frequent Flyer, JourneyWoman.com and Business Traveler International. She has three restaurant industry trade handbooks to her credit (The most recent? The highly anticipated newly-launched: 150-Plus Tips on How to Attract & Keep Solo Diners , 2nd Edition — 2009 ; SoloDining.com): 150-Plus Tips on How to Attract & Keep Solo Diners — 1996; Pod Press (no longer in print), and Solo Diners: The Untapped Mega-Market — 1990; Rockbridge Publishing (no longer in print). "One thing that has surprised me throughout the years I've studied the solo dining phenomenon," said Alexander, "is how few people know how to cope with D.D.S., or 'dread of dining solo.' When people call, asking for recommendations of solo-friendly restaurants, the conversation invariably turns to other questions. How can you avoid being seated in an uncomfortable location? Is it proper to read in a fine dining restaurant? How should a woman handle unwanted attention when eating out alone?" ("They Shoot Single People, Don't They?," an episode of Cable TV HBO's Sex in the City, contained two — count 'em! — instances of solo dining.) Alexander initially decided to write a book for anyone interested in taking control of this universal aspect of living — a book revealing her secrets of solo-dining savvy gleaned from years of personal experiences, the responses to questionnaires, feedback from radio talk-show appearances and her articles on the topic, plus other sources. Then, due to public response to the "Solo-Savvy Restaurant" Contest (celebrating the publication of 150-Plus Tips), she discovered that many people liked the idea of receiving solo dining savvy in a different format. Rather than sitting down to a "full meal of tips," they preferred the idea of "snacking" their way to understanding. And so she created the successful and well-received monthly newsletter Solo Dining Savvy, retitled SoloDining.com, (mailed) which was published throughout 1997-2001. Keeping up with the times, the essence of SoloDining.com newsletter morphed into SoloDining.com, the web site. A new and expanded concept, it included a "living"-ever-expanding, continually updated-listing of solo-friendly restaurants across the U.S. and beyond which showcased Alexander's discoveries and those of other solo diners. The how-to booklet of solo dining tips and strategies is now available!!! Alexander's most recent publication (a full meal!) for wannabe solo diners is "The Art and Satisfaction of Dining Alone — Revealed!" - Five Easy Steps to Success — 2007; SoloDining.com. Available as a PDF, it will teach you how to develop solo dining skills or how to enhance the ones you have.

Products & services

Similar companies nearby