Lines, lines, everywhere, lines

Waiting in line once meant you were: 1. stuck at the DMV, 2. buying concert tickets, or 3. clambering for Elmo on Black Friday.

Now, all it takes is a viral croissant or a matcha latte, and lines stretch for blocks.

But what if you could avoid that line madness altogether, and still nab that pistachio-cardamom-ube-churro-banoffee croissant?

Damn Lines, a new website, monitors the lines of trendy NYC restaurants with strategically placed cameras to help users avoid the longest lines, per The New York Times.

Somebody’s watching me

Created by software engineer Lucas Gordon, Damn Lines pays neighbors of popular restaurants to install cameras to monitor lines. The site provides wait-time estimates and suggests when to go based on historical data.

It’s a bit creepy — line-waiters don’t know they’re being watched. And one of the surveilled restaurants, John’s of Bleecker Street, complained that inaccurate wait times cost them business.

Meanwhile, other businesses are taking novel approaches to address the growing trend of big dumb lines:

• San Francisco’s Butter & Crumble bakery employs a “line coordinator” and received positive feedback.
• A buzzy bagel bakery in NYC, facing eviction due to its long lines, uses line supervisors and stanchions.
• The Wait App estimates wait times at select In-N-Out locations.

A fine line to walk

Driven by viral sensations and herd mentality, restaurant lines can be a double-edged sword:

• Long lines boost perceived popularity of restaurants, but after 15 minutes that positive effect wanes.
• A 2019 study found that long lines signal high quality, which may make consumers more willing to spend. And we tend to value something more — and get a dopamine hit — if we’ve put sweat equity into obtaining it.
• However, 80% of consumers avoid businesses with long lines. And while 60% eventually return, 40% go elsewhere or give up.

Age also factors into how long people wait. According to a 2025 survey:

• Sixty percent of Gen Zers and 48% of millennials stood in line for 30 minutes or more for a specific food or restaurant.
• Only 31% of Gen Xers and 14% of boomers waited that long.
• Over 90% said it was worth it, and 74% said they’d do it again.

For some, waiting in a restaurant line is embarrassing. To others, it’s part of the whole experience.

Where do you stand?