Safeway singles night turns Winnipeg store into meet market

Hundreds of Winnipeggers strolled the aisles of the Osborne Village Safeway store on Tuesday evening, milking the opportunity to pick up some groceries and maybe some dates.

Singles Night at Safeway attracted shoppers to the River Avenue and Osborne Street store starting at 7 p.m. More than 1,200 people had indicated on a Facebook page for the event that they would attend.

"Looks like more people are coming in the door every second," said Lucas Andrich, who co-organized the event. "I'm happy I'm not the only one here."

Singles were asked to tie a produce bag to their shopping cart or basket — a green bag for same-sex matches, and red for heterosexual matches — to let others know they were approachable.

A DJ played music and door prizes were offered. As well, Winnipeg Harvest staff accepted donations for the food bank.

Among those who came to the event was Todd Hamin, who was not overly optimistic about finding a new girlfriend in the grocery store aisles.

"I don't think I'll meet anyone," he said. "I guess you never know."

Accompanying Hamin were his 11-year-old twin daughters, Grace and Mackenzie, who were even less hopeful about their father's chances.

"I think he should forget about it," Mackenzie said with a laugh.

It's not the first time the grocery store has hosted such an event. A similar singles night event was held at the same location in 1986, as you can see in this vintage CBC video.