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How a Bavarian supermarket is helping shoppers find love amid shutdown

DPA/The Local
DPA/The Local - [email protected]
How a Bavarian supermarket is helping shoppers find love amid shutdown
Edeka employee Daniel Cronau took part in 'singles shopping' one Friday. Photo: DPA

One Bavarian supermarket is giving singles the chance to find love - or at least flirt behind FFP2 masks - every weekend.

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Can you find love while shopping in Germany? For many, a supermarket may be just about the least likely place for a starry eyed encounter, especially at the speedy check-out those who live in the Bundesrepublik will be aware of.

READ ALSO: The complete German supermarket survival guide

An Edeka supermarket in the Bavarian town of Volkach, however, is trying to break through barriers amid the coronavirus crisis: every Friday evening has been set aside for “singles shopping.”

"After all, curfew and contact restrictions don't make it easy to find a partner at the moment," deputy store manager Steven Schellhorn told DPA. 

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Every Friday between 6 and 8pm, singles can grab a heart with a number on it at the entrance and stick it on their jacket.

If they spot someone they fancy amid the shelves, they can opt to have that person’s number called out at the checkout. Those who are a bit more bashful can simply leave their phone number with a message. 

READ ALSO: Video: How to flirt during a pandemic? Get a German dating coach

For this purpose, slips of paper are laid out on which the type of contact can be ticked off, such as: "I'd be happy to meet you for an orange juice in the fruit department."

"I think it's a good change," says a staff member donning a red heart on his chest. The offer has been around for about two years, said Schellhorn, but so far few customers have taken advantage of it. 

Yet since the start of the pandemic, the red hearts picked up in popularity, with more people using the offer, he said.

“Nothing has taken off yet,” a butcher’s assistant told Bavarian news website Merkur amid a display of schnitzel and minced meat. “At least not here by the meat, but maybe in another department.”

One unattached Friday evening customer told Merkur that he was staying optimistic. “I’m looking everywhere,” said Alfons, who wore a heart with the number 50 on his coat. 

READ ALSO: What's the advice for sex and dating in Germany during the coronavirus crisis?

Vocabulary

leave a message - eine Nachricht hinterlassen

A change - (die) Abwechslung

tick or check off - ankreuzen

Fruit department - (die) Obstabteilung

We're aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.

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