Couple Creates “Let’s Dine Austin” Event to Build Community

By Anne DeVries

On April 1, Howard Kaplan and his wife, Jeannine Kaplan, hosted their monthly “Let’s Dine Austin” event at their home in the Crestview neighborhood of Austin. Initiated in September of 2021 as a community-building event focused on gathering people of various backgrounds for cordial conversation during a sit-down dinner, the response and outcome have been more than they could have hoped.

Howard Kaplan has spent most of his adult life in New Orleans. After graduating from LSU, he worked at the Supreme Court of Louisiana for a year. In 2016, he and Jeanine decided to relocate to Austin.

Regarding his motivation for starting “Let’s Dine Austin,” Howard stated, “I get discouraged sometimes about what I see out in the world, and even though people may disagree politically or otherwise, it seems to me that they ought to be able to sit down and have a meal together and get along for a few hours.

So the point was to get people to side down across from each other and leave everything else outside. That is basically the whole point of it.”

Jeannine takes on the task of setting the table and preparing their home to welcome their guests. Howard is the chef, and together, they serve from their wellappointed kitchen, choosing not to sit at the table but to remain on their feet, serving their guests each course of the meal. The Kaplan’s nephew, Chris Hulsey, attends each dinner and assists with serving.

The pilot group in 2021 was 12 people whom the Kaplans had never met. They gathered them by posting an invite on the Next-Door page for their area. From that original group, several people have remained loyal supporters of the endeavor, and now the Kaplans try to mix former attendees with new ones to the dinner to grow ties and friendships.

If you are interested in attending a future “Let’s Dine Austin” event, please email Howard and Jeannine at letsdineaustin@outlook.com.