The Corner Bar

I have been coming to the Corner Bar since the 70s. Lived in Rockford in the 80s and came here at least once a week. Now I live over by Allendale so it is not convenient for me to come here but I still get the urge to have their Chili Dog and Fries and make the 30 minute drive to Rockford to come here. At least I used to… but not any more.
The food is still good… and the waitress we had was terrific. The issue is that the place is now run by people who are clueless who implemented a new, text based, online seating process that is very cool and «High Techy» but one that is, in a word… STUPID.
We walk in the back door and I am happy to see all kinds of empty tables and comment to my wife «This is great, no wait tonight». But much to my surprise when I walk up the the little stand in front… instead seating me they ask for my name and phone number and inform there there will be a 30 minute wait to seat my wife and I. I stare at the girl. I then walk back into the dining room and count 13 open tables. I then look around and see one other couple sitting and waiting. So I ask «How can it be a 30 minute wait to seat my wife and I when there are 13 open tables and I see only one other couple waiting»??? The girl replied that there are «lots of people» on the list but they are not at the Corner Bar. WTF??? Now my head is about to explode trying to process the lunacy and she explains that they are out and about around Rockford waiting to get a text saying their table is ready and I will get a text when it is my turn.
So then I got a ulta cool text telling me I was on «The List» for a table and that my table will be ready in approximately 30 minutes with a cool, high tech link to a web page that displays the «the list».
So I go over to the bar to have a beer and try and comprehend what Is going on while I wait to get my text from 10 feet away telling me I will be allowed to take one of the 13 empty tables I am staring at? So apparently I not only have to wait for the people on the list to have their turn come up, I have to then wait for them to wander their little butts from where ever they are in Rockford over to the Corner Bar and claim their table… adding who knows how many minutes for each table to be claimed. And it made no sense what so ever that even if there were 100 people on the list there were tables not being filled as they emptied. How could there be 13 tables open if there were «lots of people» on the list for tables??? It boggles the mind.
So I call the manager over and ask how come empty tables were not being filled as they emptied no matter how long the list was and how long people were allowed to take to wander back to the corner bar once they got a text saying their table was ready. I was informed by the manager that they «usually wait 10 or 15 minutes and if the person does not show up they move on down the list.
I say to the manager «I want to make sure I understand this… we wait for a table to open up. We then text the next person on the list & say «your table is ready… we then wait 15 minutes and if they don’t show up we text the next person on the list and wait up to 15 minutes for them to show up and so on until somebody comes back… all while you have people sitting here wanting to be seated? Is that correct?» And she says «Yep, that’s how it works»
How is THAT for efficiency!
So I go back to sipping my beer and waiting while still counting 12 open tables and decide to look at that link to see how many parties were ahead of me. This is when it gets REALLY STUPID. I am the 6^th party on the list and 3 of the parties ahead of me had been on the list for 45 –80 minutes at that point (the «we move on after 10 – 15 minutes» thing was a strait up lie).
So there are 12 open tables and I am the 6^th party on the list… but they can’t seat me??? Not even if you are using the latest, greatest, most convoluted Common Core math can you possibly come up with a way that there are 12 open tables and 5 parties ahead of me but you can’t seat me??? They could save 5 tables for the parties in front of me and seat me plus 6 other parties!!!
So I call the manager over again and as much as she obviously did not want to she came over. I pointed out the math problem of 12 open tables and only 5 people ahead of me. She said «there must be a problem» (ya think) and went over to the little stand and talked with the girls up front.
Within 3 minutes it was suddenly my turn to be seated. A MIRACLE had occurred. Somehow it become possible to seat me in one of the 12 open tables!!!
Luckily for them, no matter how inept the management of this place is, the location still keep people coming in. Otherwise this mgt team would run the place into the ground. but I sure won’t drive across Grand Rapids to come here any more and sit and look at open tables that I am not allowed to go sit in.
This was a Tue night. I can’t imagine a Friday.

Stopped by last weekend for the first time since I was a kid, which was always some place we looked forward to visiting. I am happy to report it is still awesome! Great service, the best dogs, and onion rings too! Plus we got to see my dad’s name on the wall from the 70’s, and hear the story about how he «could have kept going if your mom didn’t make me stop» ha!

Great hot dogs! The chilli dog basket is the way to go. Great family place. Great beer offerings as well.

Great dogs & good beer selection on tap, with good service to go with it. Could have been a 5 star rating, but the 70’s elevator music streaming from the managers tablet made me want to stick my finger down my throat and gouge out my eardrums with my knife!

Stopped in when we were killing time between baseball games with 14 parents and 12 year olds. They sat us quickly and pleasantly. Simple menu with hot dogs as the main draw. Turkey sandwich on pretzel was great. Deep fried cheese and macaroni and onion rings were a highlight. The hot dogs were good too. Service was acceptable given the crew I showed up with.
I would have no qualms stopping in again. I might even skip a few meals before and go after the 12 dog challenge and get my name on the wall!

My husband and I had dinner here for the first time and thought it was decent. I ordered the chili dog basket which was great and my husband had the Rueben. He said it was good. It seemed pretty crowded for a weeknight… lots of families, but we didn’t mind. We just figured it must be the place to go! The service was great, as well. This will be one of our new ‘go to’ places. :)

They used to have great quality dogs in the 70’s and 80’s, but today the quality is very low. I am so disappointed.
Dogs made them famous, now the quality is way down. I hope the owner reads my post.

Historic Rockford dive. Another place to get a wet burrito. Grew up going to this place. The remodel was great. Not as much of a dive as it used to be.

I’m not going to lie, this review is totally bias. I grew up going to this place and I’ll say that if you don’t see 5 stars in these reviews, those people aren’t from Rockford and should, respectfully, be ignored. The Corner Bar has been a staple in the Rockford Community longer than I have been alive. No matter how busy I am, when I travel home, I make a point to stop in and get hotdogs. 29 years of going to this place and 29 years of delicious hotdogs recieved. I’m still a little sad they installed windows in the dining room, and also took down the autographed collection of Tigers greats BUT this place is so awesome, I’ll still say «Yesterdog Who?» Thanks for the memories and great food, Corner Bar. I’ll be seeing you soon.

If you are looking for a hotdog I highly recommend you go somewhere else like dam dogs. The dogs to go window was closed and a sign directed me inside to the bar. I went to the bar and when I didn’t order a drink, just hotdogs, he wanted nothing to do with me and directed to a girl behind the counter. She said she forgot to take sign down and proceeded to ignore me as I stood there. No acknowledgement to me, no just a moment, nothing. I waited 10 minutes and left. Walked to dam dogs. Had my dogs within 5 minutes. If you are looking for hotdogs, definitely dam dogs! They were delicious also!

One of the best hotdog places I’ve been to! Service was great-​everyone was nice and friendly. Wait times were fast despite being there on a Sunday for lunch. And cherry on top to all these is that their prices are pretty reasonable. Definitely lived up to the hype.
*Arnold Schwarzenegger’s voice* «I’ll be back.»

Sad that the service has been so poor lately.

Went to the Corner Bar last night for chili dogs which are usually the best. The dogs were terrible!!! There was barely a teaspoon of chili on the dogs with extremely light toppings + missing cheese. Seriously! How can you get a chili dog order wrong? Our service was extremely slow. Our server walked by our table three times before stopping to take our drink order. The restaurant was busy but not too busy that the servers had time to walk the room. This experience was so poor that we don’t plan to return anytime soon.
Our next chili dog excursion will likely be to Mad Dogz in Comstock Park or Johnny B’s on Wealthy.

I was told this was the place to go for a great hot dog while visiting Michigan. I was not disappointed. I had the bacon cheddar dog with crinkle cut fries. It was excellent. Crispy bacon, shredded cheddar and the right amount of their famous chili. This will become a regular stop when I’m In Michigan.

It used to be a great neighborhood restaurant and pub but the service has been steadily heading downhill and the food isn’t good enough to overcome that. Still have to go there for the dogs but it was such a great place to go, fortunately there are plenty of other places to go in Rockford

Definitely my go-​to hot dog joint. I have yet to have a mediocre experience here, they are very consistant and the hot dogs are a Rockford staple. Love the food, the atmosphere, and just the general laid back vibe this place gives off. I usually end up here if I am in downtown Rockford. The combo is a good deal, as it comes with fries and cole slaw and a discounted price on a third hot dog option.

These are my favorite hot dogs of all time. I always get the chili cheese dogs and am rarely disappointed. The last time I went, I arrived as they were opening and the dogs were sub-​par compared to my usual visits. I think the buns hadn’t steamed long enough as they were just opening.
Usually, the hot steaming bun, paired with the freshly grated cheddar cheese and ever-​so good chili on top of a classic dog is a Michigan staple that you have to try at least once. Detroit Coneys are great, but life isn’t complete without being a Corner Bar patron.

Slow service and extremely watered down drinks. I wasn’t sure if my whisky sour actually contained liquor, it was that weak. My husband fared no better with a crappy gin and tonic before switching to a domestic beer (about the only thing they appear to sell here).
The atmosphere was meh, nothing that would make me want to come back anytime soon, anyway.
It took our waitress an eternity to stop gabbing with some random dude at another table before she was willing to saunter over to our party and take our order. She seemed a bit irked that she had a table of strangers to attend to, but maybe that’s just my interpretation. Nonetheless, she was far from friendly.
The waitress actually snickered after my friend ordered a glass of chardonnay… I’m not kidding. She literally rolled her eyes as she walked away from our table…

We came here to watch a game, which we could but with a little discomfort since most the tables do not face a TV directly. The buffalo chicken dip while delicious was very tiny, two people demolished it in minutes.
I had the Chicago dog, the toppings were great though with so many I had to resort to eating it with fork and knife, the dog itself was average. Limited wine menu, probably a good place for beer drinkers!

I’ve been coming here for 30 years. The past decade I’ve watched the great Tigers memorabilia come down. The window time go up. The consistency of the sauce go up and down. The prices go up. It’s not the same product you couldn’t get enough of. I’m only speaking of the dogs. Change is a shame especially when the lack of change for so many years keeps me coming back every once in while hoping that the dogs will be like they used to. There’s a faint taste of the good ol days but not enough to get me back up from GR.
4÷25÷15 things just keep getting further from the original thank god for Cook’s Hotdogs in Dutton MI. Still taste the same as they did 30 years ago. I had take out tonight from CB and it was just bad… I keep coming back HOPING to taste a glimpse of my childhood but it’s just not there…