The Corner Store

Beautiful space, great acoustics, and friendly people! Homey, well-​lit, and a much classier place to see live music than any club or dive bar in the city.

This a beautiful and welcoming venue for excellent live music. The owners are a really sweet couple who have converted basically their living room into a performance space. The building has always been a corner store and they are maintaining the tradition. For that reason it has a very cozy feel, for instance, you enter through their kitchen! I went and saw a jazz group, and they served wine and cheese. Obviously, if you are looking for a rowdy crowd then this is not your place, but for a nice relaxing evening I highly recommend it!
Note: It is very close to the Eastern Market metro stop, though I had some trouble finding it because it’s on a small residential street.

I had the great pleasure to take my 17 year old Nephew and a friend to The Corner Store on September 7^th, 2012 to see the duo, Montana Skies, a guitar and cello duo. My nephew and his friend are also a guitar, cello duo and they found the event. It was a fantastic venue and the staff have a wonderful art center!
I must say I do not travel into the city very often and when my nephew phoned and wanted to attend an event in SE DC, I must say I was not too excited. Then I read the comments here and became excited to attend as the duo is just fantastic too!
I now enjoy finding all these hidden gems in our great city! I urge you to attend an event at The Corner Store, really fantastic!
Thanks Kris!
Michele

My thoughts were jumbled as I started my brisk and agitated walk back to my house from Eastern Market. Between metro delays, a couple of girl issues (one present, one past), and an absolute beast of a work day, I was looking forward to slamming a few beers before heading to a friend’s show at Red Palace. But an advertisement in front of the Corner Store stopped me dead in my tracks.
The Parlor Soldiers, an incredible three-​person Americana folk group that played with my friend’s band a few months ago, were in town and playing a few blocks from my house? Immediately, I sent a slew of text messages. Time to finally check out the mystery that was The Corner Store.
I always thought The Corner Store was some kind of art gallery, and I had always meant to stop through its doors. Most of my expectations were correct; it basically is a small store lined with a gorgeous firebrick red interior that sports great acoustics. It has a cute patio in the back and the bathrooms located upstairs are in a great condition. The store appears to be more of a house than an actual business.
Having said all that, this was a great venue to see a band like the Parlor Soldiers; the space was intimate with all lighting focused towards the stage. It appeared that pretty much everyone knew each other from the neighborhood, and for a suggested donation of merely $ 5 (on top of the $ 15 cover), I could eat and drink all the bread, gourmet cheese, wine and beer that my heart desired. You could also talk to the band between breaks if you so desired.
Although it certainly helped that I happen to love the band, I’m quite sure that I’ll open up to the idea of seeing more live shows here. It’s not often that one can claim to have a bona fide music venue just a couple of blocks from their family friendly neighborhood. I’m happy that I finally decided to step foot in this venue. I hope to see more live music find its way through these doors.

The Corner Store is a fantastic art center in the heart of Eastern Market in Capitol Hill. Kris and her assistant Liz always put together really fun and entertaining events. The poetry slam I attended recently was an absolute blast!
Highly recommended!!!