{"id":545227,"date":"2026-03-25T23:11:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T23:11:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/545227\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T23:11:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T23:11:12","slug":"nyc-discovers-a-new-drink-sharing-app-with-a-20000-person-waitlist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/545227\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC discovers a new drink-sharing app \u2014\u00a0with a 20,000-person waitlist"},"content":{"rendered":"

The move is as classic as a good New York bar<\/a> \u2014\u00a0you catch someone\u2019s eye, or notice them and want them to notice you. You slide down, amble over, or even call out from down the other end, offering to buy the object of your sudden interest a drink.<\/p>\n

Or, rather, you did until the age of the smartphone, which now has everyone avoiding social interaction like it\u2019s a religion, even when out on the town trying to meet people. <\/p>\n

Now, IRL-phobes can take not speaking to each other to a new level, thanks to a popular app that allows you to send cocktails to strangers \u2014\u00a0without so much as an \u201cis this seat taken?\u201d <\/p>\n

The first-of-its-kind and free-to-use, Dion<\/a> \u2014 which calls itself a \u201csocial club with taste\u201d \u2014 is being downloaded left and right by New Yorkers looking to meet cute on the sly, make business connections, or even gift a friend.<\/p>\n

Dion is the first of its kind app where users can send anything from a $3 coffee to a $20 cocktail to someone. dion<\/p>\n

After being vetted and moved off a 20,000-strong waitlist, members can send each other anything from coffee to an espresso martini, at one of more than 90 venues. <\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not just about digitizing yet another human interaction, said co-founder Revekka Palaiologou \u2014\u00a0who told The Post that the idea for Dion (named after the Greek god of winemaking and fertility) was sparked after she attempted and failed at gifting a bottle of champagne for a friend\u2019s birthday dinner.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t be there, so I called the restaurant up to surprise her with it at the table,\u201d said Palaiologou, who previously worked at Bloomberg as a senior software engineer.\u00a0\u201cIt was a whole process: you have to give them your card, sign an authorization form. The next day I asked \u2018How was your birthday?\u2019 and she said it was nothing special. She never got my gift.\u201d<\/p>\n

Revekka Palaiologou thought of Dion after realizing how difficult it can be to gift alcohol to someone dining out. dion<\/p>\n

Founded by Palaiologou and fellow entrepreneur Miltos Kambourides in 2024, word of mouth has turned it into a sensation both in the Big Apple and in jetsetter hotspots like Miami and Dubai. <\/p>\n

Here in NYC, users can send drinks back and forth at hotspots<\/a> like Caffe Dante and Chez Margaux in the West Village, FiDi\u2019s exclusive Casa Cipriani and SoHo\u2019s retro-cool Fanelli Cafe, with users paying for the gifted libations directly through the app.<\/p>\n

Drinks can cost users anywhere from $3 for a cup of java to a $19 Negroni \u2014\u00a0plus a service fee that Dion collects.<\/p>\n

Miltos Kambourides helped Palaiologou conceptualize Dion.<\/p>\n

Ben Schroeder, a 30-year-old Williamsburg resident who runs a staffing agency for private chefs, is a big fan. He\u2019s mostly used the app to land dates, saying that before downloading Dion, he found meeting new people difficult, because he\u2019s typically zipping around the country for work.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice to have a consolidated group of people beyond a Raya situation,\u201d he told the Post, referencing an exclusive dating app. \u201cWhen I was in Dubai for New Year\u2019s, I had a few women send me drinks and I actually met up with some of them. When somebody sends you a drink, it sends you a notification and starts a conversation.\u201d <\/p>\n

Whether trying to network or shack up, users like Schroeder can find each other on Dion by searching for specific friends \u2014 or hopeful contacts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

FiDi\u2019s exclusive Casa Cipriani is one of several NYC establishments that Dion users can send each other drinks at. Christopher Sadowski<\/p>\n

They also have the option to flip through Dion\u2019s user categories, which include technology, fashion, finance and real estate, mimicking a dating app, as it includes users\u2019 pictures, short bio and their drink of choice.<\/p>\n

After being treated to a drink by a friend or secret admirer, app users can instantly redeem it at one of the app\u2019s many partner venues. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not one to sit here and swipe through dating apps,\u201d Schroeder explained. \u201cObviously, I\u2019d like to meet in person because I\u2019m busy, so everyone on Dion values time and has a lot going on otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben Schroeder swapped dating apps for Dion to hopefully find his happily ever after.<\/p>\n

According to Dion\u2019s stats, 60% of drinks sent result in a one-on-one meeting, which the team says is ten times higher than the digital norm on comparable connection services.<\/p>\n

\u201cDating will absolutely keep getting more digital, but the most interesting apps are the ones that treat technology as a doorway back to real\u2011world experiences, not a replacement for them, so I\u2019m optimistic about that,\u201d Natassia Miller, a Manhattan-based AASECT Certified Sexologist for DatingAdvice.com<\/a>, told The Post.<\/p>\n

The downside?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen money is built into the first interaction, it can blur the line between flirting and financial obligation, especially for women who are already navigating safety, power dynamics, and entitlement in dating,\u201d Miller added.<\/p>\n

Dion is accessible in major cities such as NYC, Dubai and Miami. dion<\/p>\n

According to Palaiologou, users have the choice to reject drinks, too, and the cost of the drink will then revert back to whoever sent it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a way to break the ice, it\u2019s your choice if you want to carry on the discussion,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

While some might roll their eyes at Dion being another way to virtually engage with someone, others believe there\u2019s great value in it.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore the dating apps took over, men and women already had cited major approach anxiety as a main reason they didn\u2019t approach someone in real life who they found attractive,\u201d said Alessandra Conti, Celebrity Matchmaker & Dating Expert, to www.matchmakersinthecity.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dion is free to join, but users have to pay for the drinks plus a service fee collected by the app. pavel siamionov \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that this app combines the idea of approaching someone without the risk of public rejection.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Conti warns, \u201cApps and companies that encourage in-person meetings as soon as possible with as little communication beforehand are positive. However, people do need to be wary of anyone they are meeting through an app.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since Dion is also designed to send matchas and martinis to people users already know \u2014 Drew Jessup, an East Villager creative director and menswear influencer, has used the app to send drinks to his girlfriend, Tess, when she\u2019s out on the town.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I heard the mission behind it, it made a lot of sense to me,\u201d Jessup told The Post.\u00a0\u201cIf my girlfriend is in Miami, I can easily send her a glass or bottle of something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jessup has also relied on Dion to discover places he would have otherwise not visited, like the NoHo cocktail hideaway Jac\u2019s on Bond, or the East Village haunt Ella Funt.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 it\u2019s a great way to discover new restaurants,\u201d he mused.<\/p>\n

Beyond sending flirty drinks or discovering new eateries, NYU student Kaylee Chen has utilized Dion to expand her professional network.<\/p>\n

College student Kaylee Chen found success with using Dion as a networking tool. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve sent a couple of drinks, because I\u2019m recruiting for consulting and it\u2019s really hard to set up coffee chats because it\u2019s the hardest industry to break into,\u201d Chen told The Post. Her fandom led to applying and later interning for the company.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely different than sending a cold email, but it\u2019s also more fun and intentional. I met one person working in tech, and we were laughing about how it was so untraditional,\u201d Chen recalled.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aWe live in the most connected generation, but it\u2019s the most lonely one as well,\u201d said Palaiologou. \u201cEverything gets lost and there is so much fatigue and noise. This is about bringing people together in a very intentional and real way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The move is as classic as a good New York bar \u2014\u00a0you catch someone\u2019s eye, or notice them…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":545228,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[11357,9626,186,3286,149,2821,165,18433,4322,74],"class_list":["post-545227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mobile","tag-app","tag-dating-apps","tag-exclusive","tag-food-drink","tag-lifestyle","tag-miami","tag-mobile","tag-nyc","tag-restaurants","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545227\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/545228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}