I Attempted A Reservation At The Corner Store After Taylor Swift Went

Taylor Swift may be the richest female musician in the world, but that doesn’t stop her from loving pizza rolls just like the rest of us. Allow me to explain. In both September and November this year, the singer was spotted with celeb friends like Gigi Hadid, Blake Lively, and Ryan Reynolds at the new New York City restaurant, The Corner Store. The eatery, in the SoHo neighborhood on West Broadway, opened on Sept. 9 and serves up classic American fare with an upscale twist.

There are even a few nostalgic picks, like one of the most TikTok-popular dishes on the menu, the five-cheese pizza rolls that are topped off with hot honey and come with a side of creamy ranch. The Caesar salad with crispy cream cheese and everything bagel croutons is another favorite. But the restaurant’s real standout is the tableside martini cart. It actually has its own reserved spot on the menu and includes twists on the classic cocktail, like the tomato martini made with tomato water instead of olive juice and the sour cream and onion martini that actually comes with a side of sour cream and onion potato chips.

Since Swift dined at the restaurant shortly after its opening, snagging a reservation has become almost impossible. The Corner Store website says they accept reservations through Resy, but as anyone who has tried to grab a time slot knows, they’re literally never available. This begs the question: how does a non-celebrity get into a celebrity-famous hot spot? And is it even possible?

Well, since I’m a woman of the people and want to help all Swifties dine where their queen has once (probably!) scarfed down dirty martinis, I made it my mission to figure out how to get inside The Corner Store without being a celebrity — and without using any sort of press credential. Here’s exactly how I did it.

Oct. 25, 2024: My First Attempt

For this endeavor, I recruited a trusty partner who I knew would commit to the goal as much as I would. My best friend Maggie works in marketing for a restaurant that the Kardashians are obsessed with, so she has a pretty solid idea of how exclusive restaurant bookings work, who’s really in charge when it comes to letting guests snag a table, and all other tips and tricks in the restaurant biz.

We decided to start small and set our alarms for 10 a.m. when the restaurant claims to release reservations. During my first time logging on, I briefly saw two bar seats become available on Resy, but as soon as I clicked in, they were already gone. Maggie says she didn’t see any reservations available at all. It was a little discouraging, but since I saw tables pop up, I had high hopes. I just had to move a little quicker the next time.

Oct. 26, 2024: My Second Attempt

This time, I logged on to Resy at 10 a.m. again and the site was absolutely dead. No hints of available tables whatsoever. Then, I remembered that a friend posted on Instagram from the restaurant a few weeks ago, so I decided to hit her up for intel.

Oct. 28, 2024: My Third Attempt

My friend said she got lucky when her friend signed up for Resy notifications and actually secured a 5:30 p.m. reservation (the restaurant opens at 5 p.m.). So now I had proof that both Resy time slots and Resy Notify work to get a table. My friend also mentioned that she noticed a few tables stayed totally empty during her time there, which seemed odd since reservations are so hard to score. Is this just in case Swift decides to randomly show up with her crew? We may never know.

Maggie also decided to use her restaurant connections and email her co-workers to see if they knew anyone at The Corner Store, and even friended the The Corner Store general manager on LinkedIn. These connections seemed promising! All we had to do was wait.

Nov. 5, 2024: My Fourth Attempt

Ah, Election Day. What better distraction from the stress than to awkwardly stand outside on the street lined up to get into a restaurant? This is the day we decided to take matters into our own hands and try walking in. None of the above attempts panned out into anything and I didn’t want to try DMing the restaurant saying I was press to get in.

Maggie and I lined up outside the restaurant at 4:30 p.m. exactly, and there was only one other person in front of us. By the time 5 p.m. rolled around, the line was about 10-20 people long.

At exactly 5 p.m., a security guard/bouncer (yep, this restaurant is so coveted it has security!) appeared outside and started chatting with the crowd. Unlike most NYC bouncers who will barely make eye contact with you (they know they hold all the power!), this bouncer was super friendly and welcoming, cracking jokes with the people in line. First, he called out to the crowd to see if anyone who was waiting in line had a secured reservation confirmed. A few people popped out of the line and were escorted to the front to check in. After that, he started letting people waiting in line inside.

The girl in front of us got in and got two bar seats (her friend showed up to join her) without question. But when Maggie and I were called next, the hostess said she didn’t have any bar seats available, but if a reservation at 5 p.m. was canceled, we’d be first on the list to get in. She said to wait outside and that we’d get a text if we got in. She was so kind and explained that if we didn’t get a text by 5:16 (after the 15-minute leeway to make your reservation passed) then that meant we didn’t get a spot. Honestly, since the hostess was so nice (a rarity in NYC), I did think we had a true shot.

We went to the front of the restaurant and waited patiently for the 15 minutes to roll by and — by the power vested in Taylor Swift! — we miraculously got a text message at exactly 5:16 p.m. as promised. We shrieked with delight and made our way inside to two bar seats reserved just for us. The bar was perfectly lit with a warm yellow light that illuminated the expansive martini menu without needing your phone light. They didn’t overstuff the bar, so we could fully enjoy sitting there without patrons waiting for a table darting their hands in and out of our conversation for their drink orders.

The Corner Store is known for its martini service, but I was feeling a Cosmo and then a vodka soda, so I got those instead (it was Election Day, after all; two drinks were needed). Then we got the famous pizza rolls. They were as delicious as promised. So delicious, that the man sitting next to us actually leaned over to ask what they were. We started chatting with him about how he got into the restaurant and he said when he first came to The Corner Store, he actually slipped the maître d’ $100 to get in their good graces. From then on, he had the in to make a reservation as he pleased. (Or so he says; he was sitting at the bar just like us, after all.)

We also split the Caesar salad (the everything bagel croutons and cream cheese balls were as amazing as everyone on TikTok says) and shared the mouth-watering steak frites served disco style. We were surprised not only how kind and non-snooty all the staff members were, but also how reasonably priced the meal was, considering the richest woman IN THE WORLD eats there.

It was all very Gossip Girl! All in all, I’d say it’s totally worth it to line up before 5 p.m. and snag two bar stools. Even the duo behind us (third in line) got bar seats shortly after we did.

And if you’re just visiting the city hoping to snag a table, welcome to New York — it’s been waiting for you.