The basics:

• Wonder expands Pop Salad, El Diez Mexican Bowls to multiple NJ locations
• Both concepts offer full meals with drinks priced at $10 or less
• Rollout includes cities such as Hackensack, Livingston, Brick, Jersey City

Upscale food hall chain Wonder is adding its newly launched affordable meal options to even more New Jersey locations.

After Hoboken and Springfield introduced Pop Salad and El Diez Mexican Bowls last month as part of a broader rollout across 15 Northeast locations, the brands are expanding locally.

According to Wonder, the timeline is:

• April 8 – Cresskill, Hackensack, Midland Park, Teterboro
• April 22 – Hackettstown, Ledgewood, Livingston, New Providence, Parsippany, Randolph, Wayne
• April 28 – Brick, Fort Lee, Middletown, Shrewsbury, Toms River, Westfield, Woodbridge, Green Brook, Jersey City, Marlboro, North Brunswick

In a bid to make bowls and salads feel “more craveable, satisfying and affordable,” Wonder said the offerings are “built around bold flavor, full-size portions and transparent, buzzworthy pricing.”

Pop Salad’s menu of “full-sized, sauce-forward, crunchy, indulgent builds” includes cobb salad, spicy ranch salad and build-your-own salad. A complete meal includes toppings and proteins, as well as a drink, Wonder said.

El Diez focuses on full-size portions of Mexican rice bowls prepared with bold sauces and extras such as guacamole and queso. Standout items include red chile carnitas, steak fajita and chicken queso. Tortilla chips and a drink come as part of the meal, too, Wonder said.

According to the company, both brands offer full meals for $10 or less.

Mixing it up

At Wonder, customers can mix-and-match menu items from a collection of nearly two dozen acclaimed chefs and eateries in a single order. Everything is then made-to-order for delivery, pickup or limited dining in.

Existing menus available at the chain’s 100-plus locations include:

• Streetbird by Marcus Samuelsson
• The Mainstay by Marc Murphy
• Walnut Lane by Jonathan Waxman
• Chios Taverna by Michael Symon
• Fred’s Meat & Bread
• Di Fara Pizza
• Jota by Jose Andres
• Bobby Flay Steak

It also recently debuted Indian comfort food concept Dabba at several locations, including Parsippany. The banner will expand to other markets this summer before a systemwide launch later this year, according to Wonder.

Local dining

Within New Jersey, Wonder has 27 spots.

After opening its latest location last month in Wayne, the chain is preparing to add outposts soon in Ocean Township and Emerson.

To support its goal to hit 1,000 outposts by 2029, Wonder has raised more than $2 billion so far. The startup’s headquarters is in New York City, but it maintains an R&D facility in Parsippany.

Wonder has made several key acquisitions in the past two-and-half years, including:

• Meal kit provider Blue Apron for $103 million
• On-demand delivery platform Grubhub for $650 million
• Sweetgreen’s automated kitchen technology business Spyce for $186.4 million
• Restaurant rewards app Claim