Corner Store has a bouncer guarding the door for guests whose names are on the list, a practice resembling that of 1 OAK. Try to pop into Polo Bar and you’ll find the same. In fairness, they have a phone line…a fleeting tradition, but I wouldn’t bother trying to call at 10:59 a.m. every morning hoping to score a table thirty days out. I have it on good authority that process is smoke and mirrors. The dining room is run more like a private club than a Midtown eatery.
Apps such as Resy, Dorsia, and OpenTable, backed by serious capital from banks and credit card companies vying for transaction fees and premium card perks (Sapphire, Platinum, etc.) have supercharged the competition, promising “exclusive access” to those willing to pay up.
So long as there are cops, there will always be robbers; and where there are rules, there will always be those looking to cheat the system.
Third-party apps like Res X or those strange group chats littered with finance guys bartering four-tops like it’s a dice game promise that coveted 7:30 p.m. table for four at Torrisi. But no con goes without risk. Think you’re slick at Raoul’s trying to purchase a reservation? You run the risk of a lifetime ban.
All this is to say: competition for reservations is at an all-time high. But it hasn’t always been this way. Let’s explore how the reservation began, how it grew, and where it stands today.
A light dive into the matter and you can go back as far as the 11th century (if not earlier), with establishments recognizable as restaurants emerging in Song Dynasty China, catering to merchants traveling between cities. But I don’t imagine they had a guy with an earring, ripped jeans, and a tee writing your name on a pole with chalk saying, “Hmmm, I think it’ll be 2–3 hours, can I have your cell?” (Kiki reference.) So let’s keep it modern.
On October 28, 1985, Danny Meyer opened his first restaurant, Union Square Cafe. Many credit Mr. Meyer for revolutionizing New York restaurant culture — expanding on what it meant to dine out. As such, it seems fitting to start here.
Unsurprisingly, Danny felt strongly about taking reservations (historically over the phone) believing it was a rite of passage for anyone aspiring to be a manager.
“I consider the initial dialogue so critical to our business that for years the path to becoming a manager at Union Square began with being a reservationist.” — Danny Meyer
He would later partner with Resy on February 21, 2017: a date most in the company mark as the turning point for the reservation platform and the reservation craze as a whole. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
On July 2, 1998, a company by the name of EasySeats incorporated in California arrived on the scene. You may know them by their current name: OpenTable. What started as a simple way to digitize and organize reservation books a practice previously done by frantic hosts with pen and paper launched the runway for the online reservation game.
Fast-forward to May 28, 2014: three men, one of whom would later go on to found Blackbird, started an app called Resy — pouring gasoline on an already high-octane situation.
And now we’re here. The date is November 9, 2025, and if you want to get a reservation in the West Village tonight, you’d better have cleared your calendar, called the sitter, arranged your team, and made a deal with a Tibetan monk 30 days prior to get that Via Carota table.
I’m not here to argue that all the aforementioned advancements in reserving a table are bad. It’s worth noting that a reservation is inherently a good thing for both restaurants and guests, representing a promise: I will be there. I will be there with X people. I will be there at 7:30. Break that promise and you’ll take your licks in the form of no-show fees, table releases, embarrassment at the host stand, or worse… a note in your Resy profile (yes, that’s a thing).
These promises represent guaranteed income in an industry where generating income has only gotten harder. But in the madness, we’ve gone a bit too far — trading spontaneity for dependability.
Anniversary dinner? Make a reservation.
Your 30th birthday with 15 friends? Please, make a reservation.
That place you’ve been dying to try? Go ahead set that Resy notification.
But every once in a while, roll the dice. Go the way of that weary Chinese traveler on the trade route.
