When Samantha James posted a video to her personal TikTok page about the need for more social spaces for those 30 and over in Toronto, the comments quickly filled with people commiserating and agreeing.
“If you go out in Toronto and you feel like you never meet anybody, you’re not able to make friends, you don’t find cool guys, the dating apps aren’t working, then listen up,” James says in the video, sharing that she and her friend were planning on starting their own social club for those 30 and over.
Quickly racking up almost 100,000 views and 1,000 comments, it’s clear the idea resonated with people.
“I’ve been struggling to find alternatives to the bars/dating apps this would be great!!” one commenter wrote.
“Amazing idea. It’s impossible to meet someone decent especially for my single girls over 30 with kids. Online dating is a waste of time,” wrote another.
James and her friend Sandra Lapin began collecting applications from those interested in joining the club, and soon enough, Five Sixty Social Club was born.
The pair are hoping to fill a gap in Toronto’s social scene that they’ve noticed has been growing over the years. “We’re 30 and 31, and we don’t want to be the oldest people in the room,” James says. “We used to go out in our 20s and it felt like there was an older crowd, and now it seems like that has kind of disappeared.”
Through Five Sixty, James and Lapin plan to offer a consistently fun and elevated social experience for members — and to help people fall in love with Toronto again. “I used to love Toronto, and I’m definitely struggling a little bit now, and I know a lot of my friends and people our age feel the same way. Going out on a Thursday or a Friday and it’s completely empty, you feel bad for yourself but you also kind of feel bad for the venue!” Lapin says. “We would love to bring business to different venues; there are so many amazing restaurants and bars and wellness spaces here, and we want to foster that bond with Toronto again.”
Five Sixty Social Club will be members only, and the pair are currently fielding applications through a Google Form to verify members’ identities and ages and ensure everyone is joining with the right intentions. James says they’ve already seen over 200 people apply.
On Thursday, the club announced the first event, a launch party happening on May 8 at an undisclosed location. While this event will be more cocktail vibes, James says they’re planning a whole range of other venues and event types for the summer — including day parties, brunches, concerts and sports games, and even some wellness classes.
While the idea for the club was partially to create better opportunities for dating and romantic connections, the founders say they’ve received plenty of interest from applicants who are hoping to make friends through the club. “I think when people get to the 30+ age, friends are moving out of the city and moving onto different stages of their life, and people need new friendships that meet what they need right now in their life,” James says.
Lapin and James can relate to that: “The reason why Sam and I bonded so much is because we’re actually neighbours! When our friend introduced us, it was more, ‘Do you want to go walk the dogs, do you want to grab a coffee?’” Lapin says. “When you have friends who are 30+ and live in the city and enjoy similar activities, it’s a lot easier to make connections.”
