In food cities from New York to Los Angeles, waiting in line has become more than a test of patience — it has turned into paid work. According to the report, people are now hiring others to hold their place for sought-after desserts, restaurant tables, Broadway tickets, sample sales, and other hard-to-get experiences. The trend has grown alongside social media, where viral food moments can send crowds rushing to a single counter or storefront for hours at a time.
One of the best-known players in this niche is Robert Samuel, a Brooklyn native who runs Same Ole Line Dudes in New York City. He says the business has been around for nearly 15 years and currently uses about 35 line waiters on average, taking requests across the city and sometimes beyond. Samuel says the early demand came from products like the iPhone, while one of the biggest food crazes in the company’s history was the Cronut era, when clients hired multiple sitters to secure limited quantities.
Same Ole Line Dudes charges $25 an hour with a two-hour minimum, and extra fees can apply for rush requests, holidays, bad weather, or overnight waits. Samuel says more freelance line standers are also appearing on platforms such as TaskRabbit and Craigslist, a shift he connects to the visibility created by TikTok and other social channels. The report notes that one newer website even pays people living near popular restaurants to place cameras in their windows and livestream the lines at busy spots in New York City.
TaskRabbit’s listings show how widespread the practice has become. Nationally, line sitters there are listed at between $28 and $90 per hour, with New York City showing the largest number of taskers. Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago also have hundreds of people offering the service. Reviews for experienced sitters often focus on the same qualities: clear communication, punctuality, and the confidence that they will look after a client’s order carefully if needed.
Source: eater.com