The Philadelphia Dating Annex gives Free Dating Advice a permanent address: a 150-square-foot former dressmaker's studio on Passyunk Avenue. The project, which previously operated from a traveling table at festivals, flea markets, breweries, and street locations, is based at the Annex, according to Philadelphia Magazine.
Local copywriter Kate Catinella co-founded Free Dating Advice with Sam Stanton after amicably ending a nine-year relationship and reentering the dating world, according to Philadelphia Magazine. The pair took their advice table to locations including a parking lot at 7th and Christian. The Philadelphia Inquirer covered the roaming project in 2024.
The Inquirer's 2024 account described the pop-ups as a place to get advice about dating apps, breakups, and first dates. Over two years, the project served about 900 Philadelphians, according to WMMR, which reported that the table offered quick gut checks and timed venting sessions, including a seven-minute vent.
What the Annex Actually Offers
The new brick-and-mortar space keeps those staples going, continuing advice sessions and dating app profile reviews, while adding a few new features. One is an emotional processing station where visitors can take a note card, write out their feelings, and then choose whether to post it publicly for other patrons to read or toss it in a shredder, per Philadelphia Magazine's reporting.
Another feature is a community ex box, where visitors can leave relationship mementos or browse items left by others, from brief flings to what Catinella described as great loves, according to the same account. The Annex's own website describes the space as tiny, free to enter, and open to the public. It also listed its next open hours as Sunday, Nov. 8, from noon to 5 p.m., per the Philadelphia Dating Annex website.
Catinella told Philadelphia Magazine that the Annex holds office hours most Sundays and sometimes at other times. The original Free Dating Advice table will also continue appearing at local events.
A City With a Reputation to Shake
Two reported measures offer context for the city's dating reputation. A 2025 WalletHub ranking placed Philadelphia 112th out of 182 cities for dating, while Cleveland ranked third in the overall list. WalletHub said its 2025 singles ranking compared 182 U.S. cities across 35 metrics covering economics, fun and recreation, and dating opportunities. The Inquirer has also reported that Philadelphia has the highest proportion of unmarried people among the ten most populous U.S. cities.
Philadelphia Magazine reported that visitor Kristin Hinkley found comfort in seeing that other people were dealing with similar dating frustrations.
The Annex opened in October as a permanent fixture on East Passyunk Avenue, according to PHILADELPHIA.Today. The fixed location adds a storefront to the project’s two-year run of pop-ups.
East Passyunk's local businesses
The East Passyunk Avenue BID says the corridor is home to over 50 shops and boutiques, most of them small, locally owned businesses, according to the East Passyunk Avenue BID.
