Wonder, the food hall giant, wants to revolutionize how N.J. eats. Restaurants fear it will kill them.

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The generic storefronts are popping up all across New Jersey, from Hackensack to Marlton, with new shops opening seemingly every month. From the outside, it's hard to tell what…

The generic storefronts are popping up all across New Jersey, from Hackensack to Marlton, with new shops opening seemingly every month.

From the outside, it's hard to tell what goes on inside the nondescript buildings. But the Garden State's dining industry knows exactly what these shops are, and many find the company's rapid expansion unsettling.

Some restaurant owners think it spells doom for New Jersey's beloved mom-and-pop restaurants.

Wonder, the $9 billion food delivery company launched by billionaire entrepreneur and Monmouth County native Marc Lore in 2018, equates to a food hall-plus-ghost kitchen: dozens of restaurant concepts, many with celebrity chef backing, all under one roof prepared in one kitchen — all served to go. Wonder offers everything from steaks from Bobby Flay to fried chicken from Marcus Samuelsson, with specific menus varying by location.

Even famed New York City eateries Di Fara Pizza and Ess-A-Bagel are available through Wonder.

There are 29 Wonder outposts scattered across the Garden State. The latest location opened in Princeton last month and more are on the way. New Jersey's Wonder locations account for just a fraction of one of the world's largest ghost kitchen networks, which maintains more than 150 shops in total across the East coast. Wonder grew even larger in 2025 when it acquired GrubHub for $650 million and integrated the delivery platform into the Wonder app.

The company's mission statement is to "make great food more accessible," targeting areas where fast-casual options are limited and late-night eats are scarce.

"New Jersey is one of Wonder's largest markets and we're proud of our strong presence for a number of reasons," a Wonder spokesperson told NJ.com in September. "Our expansion here is the result of the positive reception we've seen from locals.

But with Wonder's expansion comes the reticence of local, independently owned restaurants, who are leery of Wonder's ability to serve technology driven cuisine.

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