NYC's Hottest Restaurants: The TaskRabbit Effect

Getting a table at some of NYC's most popular restaurants is harder than ever. So hard, in fact, that people are now hiring TaskRabbits to wait in line for them!

Lucali Pizza: The Ultimate Wait

Lucali, the Carroll Gardens pizzeria, is the top spot for this unusual service. This cash-only, BYOB establishment, beloved by celebrities like Jay-Z, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, and Travis Kelce, is notoriously difficult to get into. After Swift and Kelce dined there in September, line-waiter requests jumped 30%!

Taskers like Tanya B charge around $20 an hour to wait, sometimes for as long as three hours. One publicist, Lesa Raab, hired a Tasker for $65 to secure a coveted 6:30 p.m. table, a task she previously failed to accomplish herself.

Other Celebrity Hotspots

Other restaurants frequently employing TaskRabbits include:

• Kisa (Korean diner, Lower East Side)
• Double Chicken Please (cocktail bar, downtown)
• Emilio’s Ballato (Italian classic, Houston Street)
• Via Carota (West Village trattoria, frequented by Taylor Swift)

The TaskRabbit Trend

The demand for line-waiting Taskers is booming. In NYC, requests increased by 56% in October compared to September. This is part of a larger national trend, with an 18% increase in demand over the past year. For Taskers, it's a lucrative gig—some earn up to $2,000 a month waiting in lines!

Despite the easy money, challenges include line-cutters and the need for precise timing to meet clients. Experienced Taskers have developed strategies for dealing with these situations and preparing for any type of weather.