Walmart has opened its first Wonder food hall in a store in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, and plans to open two more inside Walmart stores in New Jersey, according to a spokesperson for Wonder.
A potential fourth Walmart location is currently under discussion, the Wonder spokesperson told SFA News Daily.
Wonder, which operates 10 additional locations in and around the New York City area, describes itself as a delivery-focused “fast fine” concept featuring multiple foodservice brands, including several created by celebrity chefs such as Bobby Flay, José Andrés, Nancy Silverton, Marcus Samuelsson, and others. The concept allows customers to combine dishes from multiple restaurants on a single order, for delivery, dine-in, or pickup.
Marc Lore, who founded ecommerce company Jet.com and took over Walmart’s online operations after Walmart acquired Jet in 2016, left Walmart in 2021 and became the founder, chairman and CEO of Wonder Food later that year. Wonder has since raised more than $950 million in capital to fund its expansion, including a recent $100 million investment from Nestlé.
The Walmart location in Quakertown is Wonder’s first within a big-box store, Wonder said. The additional Walmart locations are slated to open in Teterboro, New Jersey, and Ledgewood, New Jersey.
At the Quakertown Walmart, Wonder launched with eight restaurants, operating from a single, high-efficiency kitchen behind the counter. The concepts are Limesalt (Mexican), Yasas by Michael Symon (Greek) Alanza Pizza, Tejas Barbecue, Wing Trip, Burger Baby, Fred’s Meat & Bread (sandwiches), and Room for Dessert.
Other foodservice concepts offered at Wonder locations include Bobby Flay Steak, Chai Pani (Indian), Hanu Poke, Maydan (Middle Eastern), Mr. D’s Fried Chicken, Royal Greens (salads), Streetbird by Marcus Samuelsson (chicken sandwiches), Sushi Nichi, and others.
The concepts include partnerships with chefs and local restaurants around the country as well as menus created in-house by Wonder’s culinary team.
Last year, Wonder parent company Wonder Group acquired meal kit subscription service Blue Apron for $103 million. Although Blue Apron had once been a darling of investors as a pioneer in the meal kit space, its prospects faded due in part to the high costs of retaining customers. Some Wonder locations now feature heat-and-eat meals from Blue Apron.
“Wonder is creating the mealtime super app, serving a broad range of occasions that feature cuisines from some of the world’s best chefs and restaurants while leveraging our culinary engineering and vertically integrated model,” Lore said in a statement at the time of the Blue Apron acquisition. “At-home meals play a key role in this vision and have been on our strategic roadmap since the beginning.”
Wonder first launched as a mobile food truck concept, but last year transitioned to brick-and-mortar locations, opening several across New York City and in New Jersey. It also launched WonderWorks, which provides proprietary technology, menus, and meal ingredients to other foodservice operators.
Walmart has a history of partnering with national restaurant chains, including Subway, Nathan’s, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and others. A local California poke chain, Uncle Sharkii’s Poke Bar, recently said it would open 10 locations in Walmarts in California and roll out additional locations in Walmarts around the country. In 2021, Walmart began installing “virtual food courts” in partnership with Toronto-based Ghost Kitchen Brands, which feature menu items from Saladworks, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, Cinnabon, Cheesecake Factory, and others.
Last year, meanwhile, Kitchen United, which had been opening virtual food halls inside Kroger stores, said it would end its partnership with that retailer and close all of its Kroger locations.
Image: Wonder