Inside the crazy New York queues where people wait for hours for Insta-cred

In front of L’industrie Pizzeria, as at many other New York restaurants and shops, customers queue up behind barriers – in this case, all to grab a prized pizza slice.

Not everyone in America’s biggest city finds standing in line to be a chore. The power of social media trends means that for some, waiting for hours is an attraction in itself.

“It’s gotten pretty crazy in the city recently,” said food influencer Ali Chilton, who has 168,000 followers on Instagram.

“Some would blame me for the lines at some of those places,” the 31-year-old said, citing a craze for hot chocolates at dessert shop Glace after a video she posted in 2023 racked up tens of millions of views.

People can queue overnight in New York if needed, as happened last year when punters sought to bag free tickets for a play starring Lupita Nyong’o and Peter Dinklage in Central Park.

Isabella Downes, who lately waited 40 minutes outside a Manhattan deli, said she was drawn to the idea of “participating in something trendy and fun”.