Thursday, January 11, 2024

Wonder bringing its 'fast fine' delivery and food-hall concept to Stuyvesant Street

You know longer need to Wonder what's next for 8-14 Stuyvesant St.

Wonder Group, the food and restaurant company founded by e-commerce mogul Marc Lore, is bringing its new-era delivery and food-hall concept to the space.

A Wonder spokesperson confirmed that the brand plans to open in this location between Ninth Street and Third Avenue in the spring. According to @TradedNY, Wonder signed a 12-year lease for the 6,800-square-foot space going as 2 Stuyvesant St. 

Wonder currently operates 10 locations throughout New York City and New Jersey, offering pick-up, delivery, and dine-in (ordered via touch screens) from a collection of chefs that include Bobby Flay, Marc Murphy, Jose Andres, Nancy Silverton and Marcus Samuelsson ... and restaurants such as Tejas Barbeque, Di Fara Pizza and Barrio Cafe. 

At-home diners can choose their meals via a "super app." Per the Wonder rep: "All cooked made-to-order out of a single kitchen, with the ability to order from multiple restaurants in a single delivery order and delivered to customers in under 30 minutes." 

Wonder started its business delivering via trucks but later evolved to the food-hall concept housing multiple brands and food styles. Last fall, Wonder acquired meal-kit pioneer Blue Apron.

This lease ends the 18-plus months of speculation over what might be next for this high-profile stretch of retail.

Workers spent part of last year renovating the two-level property.

As previously reportedVillage Yokocho, Angel's Share and Panya closed in these spaces in April 2022. Another restaurant, Sharaku, in the corner space at 14 Stuyvesant St., shuttered earlier in the pandemic. (Sunrise Mart in a separate building next door on the second floor also shut down.)

Cooper Union, which leased the buildings from their owners and had subleased them to the Yoshida Restaurant Group for more than 25 years, said it was the tenants' decision to move on. (This post has more background. Yoshida had not paid rent since 2020.)

14 comments:

Carol from East 5th Street said...

Sigh. Sweet memories of Sunrise Mart, Panya, Angels Share and Sharaku. I guess having something hi-tech and "Wonderful" is better than empty stores but for me it's just another nail in the Spirit of the East Village coffin.

Giuliana said...

Corporate food & beverage companies are killing the city.

Anonymous said...

This is profoundly depressing.

Seedyfilmz said...

What a downgrade :(

Anonymous said...

Yuck. Soulless, corporate dreck instead of the unique and passionately run (by staff, anyway) places we had before. At least the rich kids from suburbia having their rent paid for by their parents won't feel threatened by anything interesting.

hywel dda said...

Expect even more fast food container trash to join the pizza plates & boxes, beer & soda bottles, and bubble tea containers to join the litter on the streets every morning.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps it won't be so bad. Let's have a positive outlook for a change.

Peter Brownscombe said...

The suburbanization of Manhattan persists.

arts+projects said...

once again, there goes the neighborhood...

the bike delivery people will basically shut down pedestrian traffic through this stretch of sidewalk.

Me said...

Been to the Wonder in Hoboken, underwhelming. They offer options from a wide range of restaurants but it's all pre-made and just reheated onsite.

VH McKenzie said...

So your food is prepared by (or uses recipes from?) a collection of chefs and multiple restaurants, "all cooked made-to-order out of a single kitchen."

A. Single. Kitchen.

I'd rather choose from the several hundred individual restaurant kitchens already in the EV.

Elliot said...

i'm confused. are they taking this beautiful piece of real estate and making it a ghost kitchen? somewhere where you can't dine, or have a drink?

Grieve said...

Elliot,

There will be a dine-in option here... though it's mostly a delivery and pick-up operation.

arts+projects said...

here's more on the group behind this unfortunate change to this space: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/10/business/marc-lore-wonder-food-delivery.html