A popular genre of app has emerged in Austin: non-romantic matchmaking apps that set potential new friends up at dinner. A new effort called Outclose applies the same concept for LGBTQ+ strangers in town.

Outclose launched in August and has been gaining steam with its first users — it now has 4.5 stars on the App Store (107 ratings) and 4.4 stars on Google Play (34 reviews).

The app arranges dinners every Thursday night at 7 pm. It does all the legwork: matching users, booking the table, and sending out the details. When matching users, it considers information gathered in a short quiz including life stage, interests, and preferences on how to spend a night out, a press release says. Participating restaurants are either LGBTQ+ or explicitly welcoming to the community. After dinner, guests will pick who they want to stay connected to, and they'll be able to keep chatting through the app.

Users pay $15.99 per dinner booking or $19.99 a month. They'll also need to pay for their meal at the restaurant.

The release notes that studies have shown that LGBTQ adults experience high rates of loneliness. One large-scale study that surveyed people in 85 countries attributes that loneliness to marginalization and related stressors.

"The places where LGBTQ+ people used to find each other by accident keep closing, and nothing has replaced them,"
said Outclose founder Cody Bumbarger in the release. "Dating apps are for dating. Big events are for people who already have
friends to go with. We built Outclose for the person who just wants a few friends who get it. Dinner is the oldest way there
is to do that, and it still works."