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24 Columbia Residents Had Dinner With Strangers. Here's What Happened Next

Issue #844

October 23, 2026

In this What’s Up Columbia issue…

☀️ Columbia’s Friday Weather - Sunny w/ high of 77, low of 41

🍽️ 24 Columbia Residents Had Dinner With Strangers. Here's What Happened Next

👉 Saturday: Chili Cook-Off & Cornhole Tournament

🗓 List of Upcoming Events JUST UPDATED!!

🎵 This Week’s Live Music

🗓 Know of Some Local Events Not Listed? Send us the Details!

24 Columbia Residents Had Dinner With Strangers. Here's What Happened Next

Two of the tables from last night’s dinner club.

Twenty-four people showed up in downtown Columbia last night to have dinner with strangers. By the end of the evening, they weren’t strangers anymore.

The first What’s Up Columbia! Dinner Club split attendees into small groups at restaurants around downtown. Nobody knew who they’d be sitting with until they sat down. To help get things started, each table received a conversation starter question by text, and from there the conversations took off on their own.

After dinner, everyone strolled over to McCreary’s and headed upstairs for drinks, where all the tables came together and people got to meet the folks from the other groups. 

When we started planning this, I’ll admit I wondered who would actually sign up. It turned out to be a real mix. Attendees ranged from people in their early twenties to retirees, with some coming straight from work and others from completely different walks of life.

One attendee shared how she ended up there. She had recently mentioned to her daughter that she needed to make some new friends somehow. Not long after, her daughter came across our post about the dinner club on social media and told her, “Look at this! You have to do this!”

The afterparty, upstairs at McCreary’s.

That story stuck with me because it’s so common. A lot of us are stuck in a groove, we might work alone in a home office all day, or we hit a point where life changes and our routines change with it. Whether you’re an introvert who needs a little nudge or an extrovert who’s running low on new faces, most of us need real connection with other people. It’s a bigger part of a good life than we sometimes give it credit for.

Knowing you want more friends is one thing. Actually making them as an adult is another. As one person put it last night, “You can’t just walk up to someone on the street and say ‘do you want to be friends?’”

The dinner club gives people a way to do exactly that, without the awkwardness. You get a couple of hours with a small group, enough time to talk about more than the weather, and then a chance to mingle with everyone else afterward.

Another attendee summed it up simply: “It was a fun way to meet people. Well done!”

Thank you to the restaurants that hosted us:

Khao-Wan Thai Kitchen
Puckett’s
The Bourbon Gospel
Southern Tre Steakhouse
McCreary’s Irish Pub & Eatery

The next What’s Up Columbia! Dinner Club is Thursday, Nov. 19 at 6:30 PM, and people are already signing up. Take the quick personality quiz, and we’ll match you with a group and reveal your restaurant the morning of the dinner. You never know who you’re going to meet! Sign up Here

10/24: Chili Cook-Off & Cornhole Tournament

Get ready to spice things up with some killer chili and friendly cornhole battles all evening long!

Join us at Natchez Hills Vineyard & Winery on Saturday, October 24th from 4–8 PM for a FREE fun fall evening featuring a Chili Cook-Off, Cornhole Tournament, live music, wine & beer, and a kids zone.

Come compete, cheer on your favorite chili, battle it out on the cornhole boards, or simply hang out with friends and family while enjoying the vineyard.

Admission is free!

Cash prizes, Live music, Chili Cook-Off & Tasting, Chick-fil-A, Rockhouse Coffee, Hudson Homestead Sweets, Dunnebacke Mums, Cornhole Tournament, Wine & Beer, Kids Zone, Kids Costume Contest

Bring your crew, come hungry, and make a night of it at Natchez Hills!

Upcoming Local Events

🗓 Have an event to add? Send us the Details!

Friday, October 23rd

Saturday, October 24th

Sunday, October 25th

Monday, October 26th

👇 Click the Links to Learn About our Local Business Sponsors! 👇

🎵 This Week’s Live Music

Friday, October 23
Pat Wiley Russel - Buck & Board, 6-8 PM
Stevierock - Acapulco Mexican Grill, 6:30-8:30 PM
Open Mic - Grinder’s Switch Winery, 7-9 PM
Michael Forkuo - Whiskey Alley Saloon, 7:30-9 PM
Ben Owens - Puckett’s, 7:30-9 PM
Vintage Voltage - Fozzy’s Bar & Grill, 8-11 PM

Saturday, October 24
Crossbridges - Amber Falls Winery & Cellars, 3-7 PM
Shannon McCue & The Harpeth River Boys - McCreary’s Irish Pub & Eatery, 7-9 PM
Open Mic - Grinder’s Switch Winery, 7-9 PM
The Hollybells + Rusty Shipp + Colonsay - 104 East 6th St, 7:30 PM
Curated Writers Round - The Bourbon Gospel, 7:30 PM
Dylan Cornell - The Rebel Bar & Grill, 7:30 PM
Righteous Intonation - Puckett’s, 7:30-9 PM
Whiskey River Band - The Boondox, 8 PM

Sunday, October 25
Small Town Sweethearts - Amber Falls Winery & Cellars, 1-5 PM
A Night of Worship - The Mulehouse, 6:30 PM

Want to get your business in What’s Up Columbia? Let’s talk