Delivery platform Wonder is opening its first Queens location in Astoria, offering menus from top chefs

Oct 18, 2024 By Shane O’Brien

Wonder, a “fast-fine” food delivery platform that connects New York customers with a range of high-quality restaurants and chefs from across the U.S., opened its first-ever Queens location in Astoria on Thursday.

Founded in 2018 by entrepreneur Marc Lore, the food technology startup celebrated its grand opening at 25-33 Broadway on Thursday, October 17, marking its first foray into the Queens market.

Wonder operates nearly 30 locations in New York and New Jersey, providing access to dozens of high-quality menus created by some of the country’s most well-known chefs and restaurants, including Bobby Flay, Michael Symon and Marc Murphy.

The platform offers New Yorkers the ability to order from a wide selection of popular restaurants across the country, including Texas staple Tejas Barbecue, Atlanta’s popular Fred’s Meat & Bread and Detroit Brick Pizza Co.

The platform offers pickup, delivery and dine-in services and can accommodate around 20 customers at the new Astoria location.

However, Wonder is primarily a delivery platform and promises to deliver freshly prepared meals within 30 minutes of ordering.

“Who cares if they get a delicious steak if it seems cold?” said a Wonder spokesman.

To achieve this 30-minute goal, Wonder’s delivery radius is designed so that the company’s delivery drivers can reach their destination in six minutes or less.

As a result, Wonder’s new Astoria location only delivers to addresses in the 11101, 11102, 11103, 11104, 11105, 11106, 11370 and 11377 zip codes.

The platform acts as a virtual food hall, allowing customers to choose between different restaurants without incurring additional service and delivery fees or having to drive to multiple pickup locations.

The concept aims to connect New Yorkers with restaurants they wouldn’t normally have access to, by providing access to popular restaurants across the country or connecting residents of a particular borough with popular restaurants from other boroughs in the city. Wonder Astoria, for example, offers menus from Brooklyn-based Chinese restaurant Kin House and Brooklyn-based pizzeria Di Fara Pizza.

Each restaurant featured on Wonder is only added to the platform after a Wonder team spends time researching how the food is prepared at the original location. Restaurants will not be added to the platform unless the original location has specifically stated that they are satisfied with the product.

Wonder has developed ovens that allow the company to prepare specialty foods from a variety of restaurants without compromising the quality of the original product, the company spokesman said.

The company has also developed its own menu concepts, including the Royal Greens salad menu offered at the new Astoria location.

Research is a core tenet of the Wonder platform and influences everything from the menus offered at specific Wonder locations to the number of delivery drivers required to meet demand at the busiest times of the day.

The company spokesman said Wonder will change the menu at the new Astoria location once the company learns what’s popular with locals. The company will also study ordering habits to ensure it schedules enough drivers to meet peak demand.

Wonder Astoria will feature 23 menus from restaurants across the U.S., offering customers a wide variety of top-notch dishes, including salads, Italian dishes, burgers, Texas barbecue, steaks, Spanish tapas, poke and desserts.

Jason Rusk, executive vice president of restaurant operations at Wonder, said the company is honored to open its first Queens location on Broadway.

“Astoria is a vibrant neighborhood full of great restaurants and local businesses and we look forward to becoming part of the community,” Rusk said in a statement. “Each item is made fresh to order by our team – we’re excited to make mealtime easier for Astoria.”

Wonder is expected to open a second Queens location at Heritage Tower in Jackson Heights, 82-11 37th Ave., by the end of 2024.

Below is a complete list of restaurants at the new Astoria location, available to order via Wonder.com/order/astoria

• Limes salt (Mexican)
• Tejas Barbecue (Texas Barbecue)
• Fred’s Meat & Bread (sandwiches, burgers)
• Yasas by Michael Symon (Mediterranean flavors)
• Streetbird by Marcus Samuelsson (Chicken)
• Burger Baby (Burger)
• Wing Trip (Chicken Wings)
• Alanza Pizza (Pizza)
• Room for desserts (sweet treats)
• Kin House (Chinese)
• Alanza (Italian)
• Detroit Brick Pizza Co. (Pizza)
• Bobby Flay Steak (Steakhouse)
• Royal greens (salads)
• The Mainstay by Marc Murphy (comfort classic)
• Di Fara Pizza (Pizza)
• Walnut Lane (American staple)
• Maydan (Middle East)
• bellies (children),
• SriPraPhai (Thai)
• Hanu Poke
• Bankside (Southern Seafood)
• Chios Taverna by Michael Symon (Greek)
• Jota by José Andrés (Spanish tapas)
• Barrio Café (Mexican)

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