Is the Grocery Store a Good Place to Meet Women?

Yes, for a short, light conversation. A supermarket is daytime, public and low pressure, and a woman choosing tomatoes is often relaxed and alone. It fails when you push, because she is on an errand with a cart, a list and a time limit. Keep it to a minute or two, and treat anything more as a bonus.

Men also ask this as "is a supermarket a good place to meet women." The answer is the same for both.

Most places where men try to meet women make her feel watched. A grocery store does not. Everyone has a reason to be there, and everyone is doing something ordinary.

That gives you a few advantages. She is often by herself. The setting is bright and public. There is always something to comment on, because you are both looking at the same shelf. And a conversation is a normal thing to have with a stranger in a line.

She is also busy. She has a list, a time limit, perhaps a child or a phone call, and a cart in a narrow aisle. She may have headphones in. Her attention is on the shopping, and an interruption feels bigger than it would at a cafe.

Staff and cameras watch the floor, and a man who hovers near one woman for a long time looks wrong to everyone. If you get a no, you cannot easily leave, because you still need cheese.

Start with a short, situational comment about something in front of you both. A product you cannot choose between. The strawberries. A sample at the end of the aisle. Keep it to a sentence, stand beside her instead of directly in front, and let her answer or not.

If she answers warmly and stays, talk for a minute. If she gives a one-word reply and reaches for her cart, say "thanks, have a good one" and go back to shopping.

Some openers that fit the setting: "Do you know which of these is actually good? I'm guessing," at a shelf of olive oil. "That looks better than my whole cart," at someone's basket. "Settle something for me, is this worth the price?" at the cheese counter. Each one is a single sentence, gives her an easy way to answer and does not depend on how she looks.

a dating coach's rule for any conversation is that questions in a row feel like a form. If you ask where she is from, then what she does, then whether she cooks, she will want to leave.

After her first answer, say something in return. A small opinion, a joke, a short story. Question, answer, tease, question, answer, story is much easier to enjoy than question after question. A good example is swapping "are you from around here?" for "you look like a native to this neighborhood," which gives her something to react to.

Ask while you are still talking, before the conversation runs out. "I have to finish my shopping, but I'd like to hear the rest of this. Can I get your number?" is enough. Say it plainly, take either answer well and move on.

This is a different situation. She cannot leave, and she is working. Do not corner her.

a dating coach's advice for a woman you like who works at a store is a patient one. Instead of one big shop a week, split it into three shops and go three times as often. Talk when she is free, keep it light, and make plans in person when the moment is right. Do not try to find out her schedule or turn up at her workplace to engineer a meeting. If she is already on a dating app, meeting her at work is going backward.

A grocery store is a good first practice room because the stakes are low. The skill is the same everywhere: say something real to a person you do not know.

Cold Approach runs an in-person Bootcamp in Miami and New York. It is live in the field, with daygame in streets and cafes by day, and coaching on every approach plus feedback after every set. Group is three consecutive days at three students per coach, and Private is 1-on-1. There is no skill floor, and the program is built around approach anxiety.