Sit, sip, speak, shuffle, swap.
This basic sequence makes up the enigmatic dance of speed dating.
San Luis Obispo resident Jack DePuy experienced that plus another coveted step at Two Broads Ciderworks’ quarterly queer speed dating session: clicking with someone who’s now their boyfriend for two years running.
“I remember being like, ‘This person asks the most interesting questions, and they think in a really fascinating way,” DePuy, 29, said. “I got their phone number, and we were just friends for a while. We went for a hike together and about halfway through the hike, I was like, I really want to date this person. Then I completely chickened out of asking them out in the parking lot.”
Three hangouts later, DePuy eventually mustered up the courage to ask them out on a date. The polyamorous couple still goes on speed dates, and Two Broads is their place to be.
For DePuy, the craft cidery’s queer speed dating event is unique to other gatherings around the county because—devoid of dancing, loud music, and a party atmosphere—it centers on conversation.
It helps that tea and carbonated water are also available for attendees while ciders are available on tap at the bar.
“Just because you’re at a bar doesn’t mean you have to be drinking alcohol, which I know is a kind of barrier for a lot of people. Also, it can make environments feel like you’re kind of just there to drink,” DePuy said. “But at speed dating, you really are there to talk to people and get to know [them], even just a little bit really quick.”
DePuy and their boyfriend missed Two Broads’ most recent speed dating event on May 7, but other regulars and newcomers assembled at the bar ready to mingle. For $5, they gained entry and a beverage.
The event drew in six people who made themselves comfortable in one of the antique sofas, cozy armchairs, and intricately carved wooden chairs arranged within the cidery.
Half industrial warehouse stacked with barrels of cider and half an artsy otherworldly living room featuring a gigantic wooden installation of a bitten apple, the Two Broads space is an icebreaker for speed dating.
Three skeletons, one clad in a black muscle shirt and another wearing a tie-dye scarf, perched above the bar as witnesses to the memories being made by speed daters below.
“Why do we do speed dating?” co-founder Maggie Przybylski asked the group. “Because you need to make new friends and lovers, whatever your preference.”
Other co-founder and Pryzbylski’s wife, Morgan Murphy, added: “We just assume you’re queer and you’re here.”
‘Why do we do speed dating? Because you need to make new friends and lovers, whatever your preference.’
—Maggie Przybylski, Two Broads Ciderworks co-founder
Though participation is modest, the event has lasted four years and survived two moves. Murphy told New Times the idea of hosting queer speed dating sprouted after she saw another bar in the Bay Area do it. She thought it would be a fun change from dating apps.
“Normal speed dating is heteronormative, right? It’s like men, women, and you just rotate sort of in an orderly fashion,” she said. “Queers probably want to meet everyone because you don’t know their gender identity, their sexual orientations. They could like both genders, multiple genders, no genders.”
Two Broads’ approach to speed dating follows the round robin method, which ensures every participant gets an equal amount of time to interact with one another.
On May 7, each of the attendees received a card with a corresponding number from one to six. Marking their seat with the cards, they paired up for the first round—1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6. They had seven minutes to make an impression.
When Pryzbylski rang a bell to start, attendees exchanged pleasantries and the usual openers. Names, what they do for a living, where they grew up, and if it’s their first time speed dating.
Pryzbylski and Murphy used a tool to help get conversation flowing: renowned psychotherapist Esther Perel’s card game, Where Should We Begin?
They’re prompt cards quietly waiting for the participants on coffee tables that facilitate storytelling and vulnerability.
Credit: IMAGE COURTESY OF MAGGIE PRYZBYLSKI
“A decision I’ve been avoiding,” one card suggested.
“A rule I secretly love to break,” coaxed anther.
Sometimes, they’re racy.
“One thing I do to make sex more interesting,” a card teased.
Depending on the hand dealt to speed daters, these cards make for a noteworthy introduction.
“They’re all about sex!” someone yelled, laughing while picking another card. “We’re going to get close quickly.”
Before they knew it, Pryzbylski announced the end of the first seven minutes. People then had to move on to the seat number immediately following the one they were initially assigned to.
With the ringing of the second bell, new pairs formed and chatter ensued.
Not everyone is a first-timer at Two Broads’ speed dating, and not everybody arrives hoping to stumble upon true love.
Speed daters Dana, 41, and Hilary, 46, found a friend for life in each other. Their names have been changed because they requested anonymity.
Dana and Hilary told New Times they’re in a “queer platonic relationship.”
“So, friends,” Hilary said with a laugh. “I also help Dana with stuff a lot, which is a thing that happens a lot in queer friendships. One person might need help around the house.”
Dana said she remembered seeing Hilary at a Two Broads speed dating session years ago and found her “hot.” They bonded over cups of tea and doing technical writing for work.
“Hilary’s been there through many catastrophes of mine,” Dana said. “She even drives me to the dentist. You helped me take my cat, Henry, to the vet.”
Interested participants can learn about future speed dating events by visiting twobroadscider.com, subscribing to the monthly newsletter at the website, or following the cidery on Instagram @twobroadscider.
Meeting new people at speed dating, according to co-founder Murphy, makes the members of SLO’s small queer community more visible to one another.
“It’s very common for people to leave. I’ve had queer friends leave because it’s hard to find people here,” she said. “It’s hard to keep a business open as a queer bar. We have queer events, we have not-queer events. We’re very into cider.”
Forging connections at speed dating can lead to the possibility of building those relationships and creating community at other Two Broads events like karaoke nights and queer trivia.
“People come here once, maybe we’re not their cup of tea, but they meet folks that are doing another program that they will like and that is more their speed,” Pryzbylski said. “We help them find something. That’s ultimately the goal.” ∆
Reach Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal at brajagopal@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Pride 2026.
