What happens when a small group of tweeps decide to get together for dinner, and discuss dinner plans over twitter? Well, in this most recent case, a small group turns into 50 people and the 2nd OCtwEATup. Friday nights event was really a testament to the ability of Twitter to bring people together by allowing anybody to be part of the conversation. With over 60 RSVPs and 45 people that attended the event, the OCtwEATup was a great success and has received very positive reviews, spurned numerous more suggestions of venues, and has left people asking: When is the next OCtwEATup?

The idea of holding the 2nd OCtwEATup came of a simple talk of going to dinner initially held between a few of us (@healthoc, @travelcostamesa, @vetlovingpetsHB, @cfleury, @paulttran), as we all shared a common love for the NOMNOM’s at the Memphis café in Costa Mesa. However, once the word of the OCtwEATup and the twitvite got out to Twitter, we soon realized that there were many other fans of Memphis and the location had to be moved to the Memphis at the Santora in Santa Ana, once the RSVP’s on the twitvite reached over 35 people as the café simply could not service our numbers (it’s a much smaller venue)

Hit the jump for more photos and the rest of the OCtwEATup wrap up!

The Memphis @ the Santora (@memphissantora) was a much more accomodating space and was in my favorite part of Santa Ana, the Artist’s district. Dave the manager, was a great help and the servers held their own as they tried to service the group of Tweeps that filled the restaurant (literally, we took up all of the seating). When I arrived at 7, i was surprised to see that a few tweeps had already arrived. Drinks were drank, conversations were begun, name tags were passed out and people began trickling in.

As the people began to roll in, I was stoked to see so many new faces. Some I’d met IRL (@ricdizon, @vetlovingpetsHB, @tanyaahedo, @paulttran, @hensel, @presspassmusic), some I’ve connected with on Twitter (@influxx, @healthoc, @funomenalrealtr, @cfluery) and some people I had never seen before but was happy to meet (@oliverschmid, @zazrules, @topbrokerOC). That is the best part of going to an event like this, is the opportunity to connect with somebody new in person, off-line, and to strengthen and build upon relationships already established via Twitter. More importantly, the connections being made were on a genuine & personal level. No sales pitches. No W.I.F.M (what’s in it for me). Just people becoming friends.

The night continued as we migrated towards our seats. Orders were placed (I had the Buttermilk fried chicken: BOMB), additional drinks were ordered and I was pleased to see the genuine interaction taking place between everybody as we all were just happy to be together, having this opportunity to share conversations, food and drinks.

The evening ended with many full stomachs, smiling faces, 1 car towed (sorry Henie!)and lots of new people to follow. I’ve always felt strongly about a couple of things when it comes to these types of events: 1) Good food will bring people together 2) Good company will keep them together. Looking back at Friday night’s OCtwEATup, I think that was definitely true.

Big shout out to @memphissantora for hosting the event, and much love to everybody who helped to promote the OCtwEATup via tweets and retweets! The rest of the photos of the night can be seen here courtesy of @flashbulbgroup