America's favorite first-date destination: Starbucks

By Rob Quinn, Rob Quinn

Published November 25, 2016

A Starbucks customer drinks a beverage outside a store in Beverly, Mass. (AP2009)

Coffee really does mean coffee on a lot of first dates, according to a survey from dating app Clover: The iPhone-only app analyzed data from its 200,000 users to determine that Starbucks is the most popular first-date destination (its blog post says the data "clearly shows" Starbucks is the leader, though it didn't reveal specifics there).

None other than Chipotle is second, and Panera is third. Other chain restaurants—including the Cheesecake Factory, Olive Garden, and the ever-romantic Buffalo Wild Wings—make up the rest of the top 10 on the list of 30.

Of course, it stands to reason that your favorite non-chain wine bar likely wouldn't register on a national analysis. Still, "we were surprised to see most people choosing to meet at coffee shops and casual restaurants for their first dates," Clover CEO Isaac Raichyk said in press release, per Bustle.

According to Clover, 51% of men prefer to meet at restaurants for a first date, while 52% of women prefer coffee shops. Raichyk says, "We expected fine dining, bars, and nightclubs to rank much higher, but clearly people want to meet in a relaxed environment." (And what's more relaxed than No. 10 on the list, Applebee's?) Indeed: Clover says only 18% of men and 13% of women prefer to meet at bars for a first date, which prompted Jen Carlson at Gothamist to wonder: "Seriously who is using this app? It's unclear who their demographic is. Maybe they live near malls. Or rest stops," she writes, though she quips that she would go on a date with anybody who suggested Cracker Barrel, which was No. 28 on Clover's list.

(Burger King doesn't make the list, but a Burger-King wedding has been getting plenty of press.)

This article originally appeared on Newser: Where We Most Like to Go on a First Date