Pour one out for The Heights in Chevy Chase, Solaire Social Food Hall in Silver Spring, and The Block in Annandale, because the list of shuttered DMV food halls keeps growing. Meanwhile, Wonder, a new “fast food hall” — backed by tech billionaire Marc Lore aiming to create the “Amazon of food” — has opened six new locations and counting. Is the era of traditional food halls ending in D.C., or just changing shape?
What Makes Wonder a ‘Fast Food Hall’?
Wonder is an app, delivery service, and food hall all in one. But if you’re expecting to walk to an airy hall full of vendors, you’ll be disappointed. Wonder operates more like a ghost kitchen or virtual food hall, pulling dishes from 25+ restaurants and offering them under one virtual roof.
Most of the food is prepped at a central commissary then pumped out to locations around D.C. where staff can churn out José Andrés or Bobby Flay branded meals as needed by following instructions.
Will the Wonder Strategy Work for DC?
Because Wonder is not preparing food from scratch, it’s easy for it to slide into small locations all over D.C. “ There's no smoke, there's no gas, there's none of these things that require a lot of permits and build-outs a restaurant needs. So, they can slide into a former Lululemon space on 14th Street, no problem,” reporter Anna Spiegel told us.
The founder of Wonder, a New York e-commerce billionaire, focuses primarily on brand recognition through lots of small locations and a seemingly endless mailing campaign. (If my own mailbox is any indicator!)
If this sounds familiar, you’d be right. Foxtrot and Blank Street Coffee had a similar approach. The former famously closed all its locations and the latter was forced to close several right after opening. “[Wonder] is snapping up a lot of venture capital and a lot of retail and restaurant space that could otherwise go to small local businesses,” says Spiegel.
Inside Union Market D.C. (The Washington Post/Getty Images)
Our Experience with Wonder
The delivery was quick (if you don’t count the 45-minutes spent on the app deciding what to order), but the results were mixed.
I got the José Andrés fall salad, which I found good quality (similar to Sweetgreen) but with a smaller portion. Spiegel’s brisket also held up well and had a nice smokey flavor. But other things didn’t go so well. “Our bacon cheeseburger was kind of disastrous,” said Spiegel. “It was dry, the edges were crispy, and it was very squished.”
Our host Bridget went for the pad thai. “It was bad in ways I couldn't even name,” she said, complaining that the noodles seemed both undercooked and overcooked.
”When you have 600 plus things to order, chances are not everything's gonna be a winner,” said Spiegel.
What Is the Future of Food Halls In DC?
“I don't think it means the death of brick and mortar food halls,” says Spiegel. Ultimately hanging out with friends at an old-school food hall and getting pizza delivered to your couch are two totally different experiences.
As for me, Union Market or the Roost will win over Wonder any day of the week.
