- July 29, 2026
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When Jon Minton moved to Lakewood Ranch six years ago, he was like many newcomers: hungry for recommendations and a sense of place.
When he didn’t find a place for local restaurant ratings on Facebook, he created one. His Facebook group called Lakewood Ranch/UTC Foodies Restaurant Reviews has since grown to 42,000 members.
Born from the momentum of the Facebook page, Minton wanted to take it a step further. He created the Lakewood Ranch Dinner Club in 2026.
The idea was to sit at a table with strangers, eat locally, and mingle at an after-party. It was met with enthusiasm, with 250 comments on Minton's initial inquiry about the idea.
There have been two dinners so far, each splitting the participants across five restaurants. On June 4 participants ate at restaurants at University Town Center and on July 9 it was at Waterside Place. On Aug. 13, the location will be Lakewood Main Street.
When attendees sign up, they each take a personality quiz to be paired with a group. Questions include whether someone is single or married, dietary restrictions, whether or not they are an introvert or extrovert and more.
The location of the dinner is a secret and the location is revealed via email the morning of the event.
That email notification is especially exciting for Sarasota’s Susan Vowels, who has attended both dinners so far. She has attended events at Blu Kouzina and Kore Steakhouse. She said each group was different, but the conversations flowed naturally.
“I do think that they match different personalities together,” Vowels said. “Some people are chatty — and I like to talk to people. I'll talk to anybody. One of the girls in our second group was definitely super quiet and introverted, but she came out of her shell a little bit, too.”
Lakewood Ranch’s Noelle LaLiberty, who ate at Kitchen Social for the first meeting, found the Facebook page in 2021 when she moved to the area and she was eager to join the in-person events this year.
“It's not any different than just meeting up with friends for dinner and everyone understood what it's about,” LaLiberty said. “It’s all about connection and I found that people who had an open spirit like me who wanted to learn more about you.”
Bradenton’s Emily Benedit moved to the area two months ago from Tampa and had no idea there were so many ways to meet people. She had heard of Sarasota, but Lakewood Ranch, and specifically Waterside Place, was brand new to her. She ate at Good Liquid with members of the group.
She said there wasn’t any pauses in the conversation and the members at that event all had similar interests. She said she is single and doesn’t like dating apps, which is one of the reasons she decided to join.
“We all were there for the same kind of reason, and it's not like someone's forced into this,” Benedit said. So we're all kind of trying to get to know people, and so it doesn't make it awkward, I guess, because we're all in the same position.
Sarasota’s Nahum Vazquez, a longtime friend of Minton, was all over the idea from the start and he ate at Apollonia in his first event.
“After we broke bread, we had some good conversations for sure,” Vazquez said with a laugh. “We're all humans here. Nobody's going to bite you. Everybody's super friendly.”
Tory Delany, owner of Allswell and the newly opened Delany's Public House, had a different perspective of the Lakewood Ranch Dinner Club. Instead of sitting down with strangers, she was one of the hosts to two tables at Allswell July 9.
She said she didn’t know what to expect. Were they food reviewers? Were they just looking for connections? Everyone in the kitchen and restaurant were on high alert.
Delany had no idea the groups didn’t know each other, but quickly caught on when the groups were shy at first. The shyness didn’t last for long, and Delany loved the idea and dynamic.
“There were lots of laughs, lots of hugs on the way out and I thought this is a really excellent setup for the guests on one side and for the business on the other side,” Delany said. “We got to meet so many people who have probably never been here.”
Delany said she has already taken the questionnaire and hopes to be an attendee at the dinner club soon.
“We're just trying to create a space for people to connect over good food, all while going to local restaurants and supporting the community,” Minton said.
Lakewood Ranch’s Angie Elmendorf, who does the marketing for the Facebook group, hasn’t yet attended a dinner club but she is eager to participate. She said it is uncomfortable as an adult to get outside of your comfort zone and acknowledges it is a risk to put yourself out there.
“It's going to be good food, so why not give and go?” Elmendorf said. “Who knows, maybe you'll meet your best friend, somebody you want to date or someone that you can start some sort of business relationship with. Why not? What do you have to lose?”
