You know the drill.
While trying to plan a night out with your S.O. or a group of friends, you’re hit with a bunch of hurdles: Choosing a restaurant, finding tickets to an event and locating a bar that’s in close enough proximity that it’s practical. Not to mention, you have to figure out transportation for this whole adventure. In an ideal world, you’d have a personal assistant — a Boston nightlife expert concierge, if you will — that would handle all these logistics. That’s exactly what Thrsday, a Boston-based startup launched by Harvard Business School graduate students in early April, seeks to be.
How it works
On your end, the process is pretty simple: Pick a Thursday you want to hit the town. Choose your crew — either one date or a group of four — and name your budget. Pick the type of night you’re in the mood for: Classic, Quirky or Wild. Then let them handle the rest. As the date nears, you’ll get a box on your doorstep with the info you need, and a few surprises hinting at what’s in store. Why Thursday? Because if you overdo it, you're not hungover, wasting your entire weekend. But rest assured, the startup will be offering their service on more nights in the near future.
The idea is that by planning everything out for you, Thrsday instills a sense of spontaneity and excitement into your night. Thrsday handles dinner, tickets and Uber—charging a fee of $10 per person—and bills you for everything later so you can focus on having fun with each other. The night-long adventure is revealed in three stages: dinner, an event and after drinks. For example, a quirky date might involve sending a group for dinner at 10 Tables in Jamaica Plain, followed by Indie Night (a local improv group) and brews at a dive bar down the street. A wild adventure could involve dinner at Bondir in Cambridge, followed by drinks at Brick & Mortar in Central Square and tickets to see the electronic group Brillz at Prime.
Co-founder Evan Halikias, former partner product manager at Facebook, says the concept for Thrsday came about before the team members entered business school.
“We were all working in pretty busy jobs, so time with our friends and partners was precious,” he told me in an email interview. “Doing the same old thing with them was easy to organize — but it didn’t really make the most of the time we had together. At the same time, organizing a new experience each time was time-consuming and stressful.”
So, what’s it like to be on a Thrsdate? I had the chance to try out the service (full disclosure: on their dime). Here’s a glimpse inside my experience.
A three-part date
When I arrived home in the early afternoon on the day I selected for my outing, there was a brown box with red ribbon on my doorstep. I had chosen the Classic night for two, and once I opened it, I saw an envelope with the details of my first stop: Fairsted Kitchen in Brookline. A quick Google search revealed that this was a "Victorian-styled eatery and bar for innovative American comfort food with Middle Eastern influences." Sounds good to me.
Resisting the temptation to open my other two envelopes, I plucked a bundle of glow sticks from the box. Apparently, I'm going to need those for later.
When my date arrives, we plug the Uber promo code into his app, order a car and we're on our way. On the way to the restaurant all I can think is — when was the last time I trekked out to Brookline? A year or more? Being a Back Bay dweller, I likely wouldn't have chosen Fairsted Kitchen myself, but sitting in the cozy restaurant with a glass of Riesling and some bread and leek butter, I already have a warm, fuzzy feeling about this place. Two bites into the roasted sweet potato wedges with red onion and drizzled in tahini sauce, and that feeling is cemented.
We sip the rest of our drinks and open the next envelope, which contains tickets to Toro Y Moi at Paradise Rock Club. Now those glow sticks are starting to make a lot more sense. The concert starts in 15 minutes, so we're rushing to flag down our waitress when she informs us that we're all set in terms of the check. Remember: Thrsday takes care of that and bills you later. Feels like I've reached VIP status, and I don't hate it.
We put an order in for another Uber and are on our way in minutes.
As the concert winds down, I tear open the third and final envelope: Our last stop is Deep Ellum in Allston. Weird, I think, it's like they know me. I've been meaning to scope this place out for years, and never made the trip. Finally, I'll see what all the hype is about. Another Uber ride later and I'm sitting at the bar with sangria in hand. My date ordered a Reposado Cobbler, and we watch in awe as the bartender holds a flame to an orange peel garnish, giving off a smoky citrus scent. The place is packed, with patrons nibbling on charcuterie. We polish off our nightcap and head out to flag our final ride home.
On the trip back, I realize the true charm of Thrsday: It gets you out of your comfort zone. It's unlikely that I would have snagged tickets to a Toro Y Moi show, since I didn't know much about him up until recently, or trekked out to Allston just for cocktails. And in that way, the service gets users out of a rut of going to the same places and doing the same things again and again. Sue, it's tempting to stick to your go-tos — but I can honestly say it feels damn good to shake things up.
Nightlife in the North End photo by Deann Barrera via Flickr/Creative Commons. Thrsday photo by Rebecca Strong.
