Marc Lore—the man who co-founded Jet.com, the e-commerce platform which sold to Walmart for $3.3 billion in 2016—has been working on something new, and it’s coming to the Upper West Side.
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The name of his latest venture is Wonder: a food delivery concept that’s been operating in parts of New Jersey and Westchester, offering popular restaurant dishes from places like Di Fara Pizza in Brooklyn and Tejas Barbeque from Texas, all cooked and prepared in a mobile kitchen (van) outside your home then delivered hot to your door.
Now, Wonder is set to open its very first physical location (sans the vans) at 2030 Broadway, between 69th and 70th streets. Here, patrons will be able to pick up their food, sit down to eat, or have their meal delivered.
Think of Sweetgreen, where you can order your food ahead of time for pick up, sit down to eat or have it delivered. The key difference is that Wonder will give you the opportunity to choose dishes from a myriad of restaurants all under one roof. They’re currently working out which restaurants they’ll be partnering with at the forthcoming outpost, which they plan to open in early February.
Click here to read about more Upper West Side openings
Wonder’s website touts eateries like Fred’s Meat & Bread from Atlanta, which is known to make a mean po’ boy, and Frankies Spuntino from Brooklyn, adored for its Italian fare by locals and celebrities alike. Then, take SriPraPhai from Woodside, Queens, which has been offering some of the best Thai food dating back to the 1990s, or Bobby Flay’s steak. While none of the spots are confirmed for Wonder’s upcoming UWS location, it looks like Wonder is aiming to offer something for every culinary mood you could find yourself in.
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This is an ambitious undertaking for Lore, especially in NYC; one wonders if Wonder can duplicate the essence of a restaurant experience. He’s got big support though. The Wall Street Journal reported back in June that “Wonder closed a $350 million funding round last month,” going on to say that “the latest funding values the company at roughly $3.5 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Previously it was valued at $1.4 billion, the people said.”
We’ll keep you posted when we get the full slate and opening date. We’re told that while seating will be available, it will be limited.
So…a food hall?
Such a bummer.
Blech. Friends have tried this NJ. Microwaved, dumbed-down replications of the real deal. No thanks.
I saw this advertised online and thought it was an awful idea and I still do. This will just mess with classic institutions and dumb down the great food that they make so that another “billionaire” (who cares) can upcharge and make more money. Terrible terrible terrible.
Why not make all of NYC a no-brains food truck;
who needs the diversity, innovation, new foods hitting the markets daily?
There are stiill New Yorkers who like to think about meals, search for interesting recipes, use interesting ingredients, and prepare terrific dinners
It will be another failure
I’ve tried this a few times in NJ and had an amazing experience. The food was JUST. SO. GOOD. I tried Tejas (the BBQ restaurant) and literally crave it all the time now. I also tried Barrio (a Mexican one), which was so much better than any Mexican food I’ve had delivered in recent memory. It ALMOST made me think moving to the NJ burbs would be manageable… almost. If they can do what they did in NJ here… I can’t wait.
It looks like an army of Ashleighyees from PR have descended with faux raves. Do you really have to be so obvious? Ugh.
Oooo I can’t wait to try this concept – especially excited for Frankies Spuntino. Wonder will be a inventive and unique dining choice for our neighborhood. Can’t wait to bring my kids too!
There goes the neighborhood.
Awesome! I’ve had their food with friends of mine in Scarsdale and the food is really good! Great to see them coming to the city and UWS first.
My favorites are Mydan (tastes just like their restaurant in DC) and the mushroom cheesesteak from Fred’s is insanely good. Di Fara is way better than our local places too
Don’t believe you for one second. LOL.
Cannot wait for this! There are still very few options for foodies here in the UWS and it’s going to be so cool to be able to eat favorites from so many different restaurants under one one roof. My family will love the concept – we can never agree on what type of food we want for lunch or dinner!
It feels shilly in here.
So many shills here this place is worse than Yelp. LOL. Lots of liars.
Think of Sweetgreen, but don’t have fresh, healthy food, plus put it in the microwave?
This is so exciting! I’ve always had great, fresh meals from Wonder – Frankie Spuntinos and Barrio are my favs! Can’t wait for this to come to the UWS
Suuuuure you did.
How have you managed to “always” have the food in NJ when you’re on the UWS?
I’m a bit confused by people who say they have tried this already. I went to their website and so far the only location listed as open is the uws. There are two others but they haven’t opened yet. I’m willing to give it a try. I really love a good po’boy.
One big kitchen turning out food with no passion or care. If I were a restaurant owner I wouldn’t let them use my name on this travesty. Unless I got a handsome cut of the profits of course!