Food Hall Chain Wonder Just Made a Big Acquisition

This week, food hall company Wonder announced that it was expanding its foothold in the food delivery business. More precisely, Wonder announced it was buying a company that’s already in the food delivery business — GrubHub, to be specific, with the transaction valued at $650 million. This wasn’t the only high-profile purchase Wonder has made; they also acquired meal kit company Blue Apron last year.

“Wonder’s acquisition of Grubhub continues our mission to make great food more accessible,” Wonder CEO Mark Lore said in a statement. “As we enhance our customer experience with selection, speed, and variety, we’re excited to soon offer a curated selection of Grubhub’s restaurant partners directly in the Wonder app, alongside our owned and operated restaurants and meal kits.”

Wonder’s business model revolves around the concept of a food hall, distilled down to a shared kitchen at its locations. Meals from restaurants based around the country and proprietary recipes are represented in the chain’s Northeastern locations, some of which are situated inside other retailers. And it’s not hard to see the appeal of making it easier to get food in a variety of styles to people looking to dine in.

There seems to be a relatively focused pattern to the chain’s business decisions lately. Is there anything we can take away from those maneuvers? As Eater’s Bettina Makalintal phrased it, “Wonder is making its singular location and shared kitchen its selling point,” something that will theoretically differentiate it from ghost kitchens.

Is Washington, DC the Nation’s Food Hall Capital?

Another weekend, another food hall opening

It isn’t hard to see the rise of Wonder as part of another national trend as well. Even as malls around the country are closing or reinventing themselves, the concept of the mall food court seems to be enduring — both in more traditional food halls and in the way Wonder has configured its locations. Can a high-end food court be summoned by an app on your phone? We’re about to find out.