If you've felt lonely over the past few years, you're far from alone. A 2023 report from the U.S. surgeon general finds that half of all adults in the United States reported feelings of loneliness before the COVID-19 pandemic. Loneliness and social isolation, the report cautions, can have physical consequences as grave as a 29 percent elevated risk of heart disease or a 32 percent increased risk of stroke.

It is a brand-new app called Buffet that tries to combat loneliness, helping its user swiftly meet other people and at the same time match them with both a person and a place to meet (think Tinder + OpenTable). Essentially, an application meant to eliminate the hurdles and the hassle of meeting new people and then, depending on their whims, trying to find a place to hang out. Buffet is an app that helps users connect with people who have like-minded interests, whether they are seeking a new best friend, romantic partner, or gym buddy.

Launched in Los Angeles, plans include expanding to additional cities later this year, starting with New York City.

Funded by Buffet CEO Rich Hacking and COO Sean Emery, who are financial analysts before setting up the business, the app was found after they went to Dubai for business.

We started throwing this idea around, and thought hey, there's something there, said Hacking to TechCrunch. We saw the loneliness epidemic and saw that the market was in need of something new. The massive incumbents have lacked innovation in the last decade. There was an obvious key opportunity for disruption. So we put one foot in front of the other and started building Buffet.

To get started with Buffet, users need to enter five of their interests, which could range from motorcycles to horseback riding or reading. The application then requests a series of five questions in an effort to gain further insight into personality and what kinds of places and people they might be interested in.

The algorithm of Buffet then matches people up. If interested, they can send an invite to the person they are matched with; the matched pair can then message each other through the app to decide on a time and date to meet. Buffet is designed to allow people to do most of the talking and getting-to-know each other in person. Buffet encourages people to go beyond a chatbox and digital communication and actually meet up in the real world.

If the users find a match but the meeting place recommended by the application does not work, then they get a list of other places that might be much more interesting. Moreover, if the users are not interested in their match partners, then they can refresh and get matched with somebody else.

Buffet's target is people afflicted most by the loneliness epidemic: the 18- to 25-year-old age group. The app also wants to target young professionals in their late-to-early 30s. According to Hacking, If Buffet can win over the average 25-year-old female professional, then it can win over anyone.

The app will be free to use, at least for the foreseeable future," said Hacking. "We want to win over users. We want to build trust and right now, when you read the market, people are frustrated with all of the paywalls.".

The app business model, Buffalo, will use advertising. The company will create an in-app community forum wherein local businesses will be able to advertise directly to users and promote happy hours and other discounts.

Availability at the moment is only iOS; however in the future, the company plans to include the Android version as well.