34 FEBRUARY 2 0 1 8
Photos courtesy of Lisa Mayer and John Benevides
VALENTINE'S DAY
Lisa Mayer and
John Benevides
Usually those nights when a friend
pushes you to go out and mingle turn
out to be the most noteworthy and historical.
Without a mutual friend and a bit
of crafty planning, Lisa Mayer and John
Benevides may not have met in August
of 2016.
“A friend of mine at work, who also
lived in Astoria, said we should meet up
for drinks one night in Queens. After a
few weeks of trying to coordinate, we
both brought our friends out one night
to Oliver’s off Broadway and his roommate
happened to be Benevides. We
had such a fun night the two of us talking
and really hit it off,” Mayer said.
The night came into fruition a little bit
differently for Benevides, who decided
to take matters into his own hands.
“My roommate told me one of his coworkers
lived in Astoria, and I kept nagging
him to call her and finally I just
texted her from his phone to meet
up,” Benevides said.
Who would’ve thought that the
girl he texted from his friend’s
phone would be his girlfriend two
months later? The couple now has
their own apartment in Astoria,
where they enjoy a cup of coffee on
their balcony overlooking the Triborough
Bridge and entertain their friends
for game nights.
Favorite Date Spots:
Singlecut Brewery
Neptune Diner
BZ Grill
Oliver’s
Astoria Craft