Resurrect the low-key hangout

Dinner every Wednesday

Invite your friends to join and have a standing date each week. Meet new friends while you’re at it.

Drop in when you can

Open 6-10pm: come whenever, leave whenever, wear whatever. Think friend hang, not dinner party.

Pay what’s fair

Cultists pay a monthly tithe tied to financial ability. We’re here to fix isolationist American culture, not build a country club.

This MLM has guaranteed rewards

See friends without the planning

A block on your calendar, and on all your friends’ calendars. No more endless texting, or guilt for forgetting to respond.

A tasty meal you don’t have to cook

Perfect for the mid-week slump. More fun than takeout, easier than cooking. No Yelp indecision or waiting for a table.

New friends, without the stranger danger

The best way to make friends is through friends. Invite yours, have them invite theirs, and surround yourself with new and interesting people.

Relieve stress, don’t just escape it

Doom scrolling and Netflix are easy, but they don’t make your life richer. Fight the isolating attention economy with a more fulfilling alternative.

Take a break from being the host

Are you the connector in your friend group? Always introducing and never introduced? Come by, kick back, and meet other catalysts like you.

An opportunity to create culture

Invent new customs, start sub-cults, be a part of creating the space you want to inhabit. This is a playground to bring your ideas to life.

Flexible Pricing

A cultist’s monthly costs are broken down into three pieces:

$50/MONTH

Monthly tithe that covers rent + labor. We offer a discounted tithe for those with financial need, funded by community donations.

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$30/MEAL OR
$6.66/JUST DESSERT

Offered at-cost. Our two options provide flexibility for folks with dietary restrictions, people stopping by later in the evening, or anyone looking to spend less.

+

$1+/MONTH

Cultists pour an income-based donation into our Golden Chalice, which funds our discounted rates. Community supports community.

$30 for your first gathering

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Try us out

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$30 for your first gathering 〰️ Try us out 〰️

Frequently asked questions

    • Access to all our weekly Wednesday gatherings.

    • Invitation to our private Friend Cult Slack channel, where members chat, share ideas, and plan events

    • Paid guest passes

    • The inside track on all our secret rituals

  • Our pricing structure is a little unorthodox but hey, we’re a cult. We’ve got a couple different levers to help make Friend Cult accessible.

    You can read more about our pricing here.

  • No waitstaff, no reservation times, nobody trying to turn your table. Serve yourself, bus your own dishes, and feel free to linger long after you’ve finished eating.

  • Each week we cater from different local restaurants, chefs, and pop-ups — a tour of the delicious eats Oakland has to offer!

  • We offer vegetarian options, and label dishes that contain common allergens.

    Requisite disclaimer: We partner with outside restaurants and chefs and cannot guarantee their allergen precautions. If you have allergies, please be cautious when enjoying our food.

  • In a world of plentiful bars and wine pairings, Friend Cult is a proudly non-alcoholic space. We don’t serve alcohol and we request members leave their booze at home.

  • Stop by anytime during operating hours, Wednesday evenings from 6-10pm. Stay for just long enough to dine and dash, or linger for the whole evening. It’s up to you.

  • We meet in a private venue in downtown Oakland. Exact location details are shared with our cultists.

  • At this time, our space can’t accommodate children.

    Rest assured, we are actively plotting ways to welcome mini-cultists in the near future. Get ‘em young!

Tenets we practice

Choose Good Gods™

We worship at the altar of social connection, not social media. We invest in the relationships we care about, so we can live happier and die more fulfilled. Life is short and time is worship, so we’re mindful of the gods we devote our attention to.

Kill the Stranger™

As the saying goes, the stranger is the enemy of connection, and sharing is the enemy of the stranger. We kill the stranger in ourselves by genuinely sharing who we are and what we love. We kill the stranger in others by greeting them with genuine curiosity, never judgment.

Conjure New Culture™

We are the designers of our culture, not merely the consumers of it. We acknowledge that American culture is broken: it’s isolationist and individualistic. We can fix it by actively participating in an alternative.