Is that blind date going badly? Is the man who touted himself as a card-carrying member of Chippendales really a guy with a beer gut who is actually a little creepy?
A Florida restaurant has a solution for those people who would like to exit a date gracefully, yet safely, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
At the Iberian Rooster in St. Petersburg, the Times reported, a discreet sign in the women's restroom presents a question: "Is your Tinder or Plenty of Fish date not who they said they were on their profile? Do you feel unsafe, or even just a tad bit weird?"
Then order an angel shot, the sign says.
It's an interesting idea.
It's a code to help alert staff that a customer might be feeling uncomfortable with their companion. Owner Russell Andrade said that if a guest feels unsafe and wants help, they should order an angel shot.
If a guest orders an angel shot neat, a bartender will escort them to their car. If they order it with ice, the bartender will call an Uber or a taxi. Order it with lime and the restaurant staff will call the police.
"The goal for this place was to be a safe place where people can go on a romantic date," Andrade told the Times. "We don't want someone else to ruin a good a time."
Andrade told the Times that he and his staff got the idea after a photo of a similar sign taken at a bar in England went viral on social media earlier this year. The Lincolnshire Rape Crisis, a support service for women and girls in East England, created a poster campaign that was placed in bathroom stalls in restaurants and bars. The posters urge women to approach bartenders and wait staff if they feel uncomfortable on a date. They also use a code word: Women can be discreet by "asking for Angela."
Recently there have been several cases of people being robbed after meeting someone through an online dating site. On Dec. 12 in Georgia, a man was set up, beaten, then robbed after he met a woman in Atlanta through the website Plenty of Fish. On Christmas Day, a Texas man who met a woman through Plenty of Fish was robbed when he entered her apartment.
It's a smart practice to meet someone through an online dating service like Plenty of Fish or Tinder in a public place. But even then, a date has a chance of going awry. The angel shot at the Iberian Rooster is one way to prevent something bad from happening.
Andrade said that so far, no customers have ordered the angel shot, and he told the Times that he hopes that will never happen.
"We didn't put the sign up for any attention,” Andrade told the Times. 'That sort of goes against the point."
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