Wonder Company To Remove Food Trucks, Install 10 Kitchens In 3 NJ Counties And NYC

NORTH JERSEY — The Wonder food truck company has provided residents in North Jersey towns like Maplewood, Westfield, and Millburn with fresh-cooked meals in their neighborhoods during the pandemic, but the company said Tuesday they'll be changing their model from cooking on the trucks to cooking at kitchens where people can pick up food, get delivery, or in limited cases, dine in.

Wonder founder (and former Jet.com CEO) Marc Lore said in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday that the company plans to open 10 stationary kitchens in 2023 in Union, Essex, and Bergen counties, as well as New York City and Westchester County.

The food truck operations will begin winding down this month and be entirely removed by May, Bloomberg reported.

"As we look to expand into new markets in 2023, we’ve begun to untap a new operational strategy," wrote Lore on Tuesday, "reducing the number of mobile restaurants we have in-market, and replacing them with physical locations that allow for delivery, pick-up and limited dine-in options."

He was specific about the areas where he'd start: "In February, we’re excited to begin serving New York City customers for the very first time, opening our first Wonder location on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. In 2023, our plan is to begin operating up to 10 of these physical locations throughout our current service areas in Union, Essex and Bergen Counties in New Jersey; Westchester County, NY; and other areas throughout the New York City area."

The first kitchen will open at 2030 Broadway, between 69th and 70th streets, reported an outlet for that neighborhood.

The company began operations in early 2021 in Westfield, in Union County, then expanded into more than 18 of North Jersey's wealthiest towns, including Maplewood, South Orange, Livingston, Millburn/Short Hills, Garwood, Mountainside, Cranford, Scotch Plains, Fanwood, Summit, Springfield Township (Union County), New Providence, Watchung, Westfield, Berkeley Heights, Kenilworth, Union Township (Union County), Chatham, and Madison.

While some residents enjoyed the trucks, others were initially concerned that local restaurants would lose business.

But Wonder said they were working with town officials and with local restaurants so that the trucks could offer delivery from those restaurants at lower prices than Doordash.

"The taco dinner for 4-5 people fed us for days," wrote an approving Patch reader in the comments section in May 2021. "And the pepperoni thick-crust pizza, hot/fresh and crunchy where you want the crunch... In my opinion this is a win on so many levels."

When the trucks arrived in Maplewood, N.J., last February, and residents "wondered" if they would prove beneficial.

"The truck is out there for a good 15 minutes or more before the chef comes to your door," wrote one commenter. "I could tell the rib roast I ordered once was fresh from the kitchen. Like I said, this is a level above takeout."

Andrew Gasper, the company's chief governance officer, told Patch, "Where we deliver food from local restaurants, we are building strong relationships with neighborhood restaurant owners and helping them realize more revenue, while continuing to serve and grow their customers."

The company had said at the end of 2021 that it planned to go from 60 trucks to more than 1,000 by the end of 2022.

But Lore hinted this week that the new model may result in layoffs.

"By far the most difficult part of this strategic decision is that it will mean having to make tough personnel choices for our employees who operate our mobile restaurant business," he said.

Find out more about Wonder here.