Wonder, the upscale food hall concept founded by billionaire entrepreneur Marc Lore, is arriving at a Walmart in New Jersey.

As part of Wonder‘s partnership with the big box chain, the venture is opening a store-in-store at the Walmart Supercenter on Route 10 in Ledgewood.

Scheduled to debut July 25, the location is Wonder’s second with Walmart and sixth overall in New Jersey. Featuring a collection of acclaimed chefs and eateries, the company’s “fast fine” concept allows customers to order from multiple restaurants at once for delivery, pick-up or dining in the 12-seat location.

The new 1,170-square-foot space will operate 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and offer delivery to a 16 ZIP-code radius in under 30 minutes.

According to Wonder, the location’s featured menus include:

• Alanza Pizza
• Burger Baby
• Fred’s Meat & Bread
• Limesalt
• Room For Dessert
• Streetbird
• Tejas
• Wing Trip
• Yasas by Michael Symon

Following a 10:50 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony, the first 100 customers in line will receive a $15 free meal voucher. Through 5 p.m., Wonder will offer free samples from Limesalt, Bobby Flay Steakhouse, Maydan and Tejas BBQ, as well as giveaways.

The launch comes about five months after Wonder debuted its first retail location at a Walmart in Quakertown, Pa. Following Ledgewood, Wonder expects to add a spot at the chain’s store in Teterboro this fall, a spokesperson said.

For Wonder, Lore’s ties with Walmart played a part in the development of the retail partnership.

Between 2016 through 2021, he served as president and CEO of the retailer’s e-commerce business. Prior to that, he co-founded online baby products retailer Diapers.com and e-commerce platform Jet.com. Later sold to Amazon and Walmart, respectively, both brands shut down following the acquisitions.

Daniel Shlossman, Wonder’s chief growth and marketing officer, told trade publication Food On Demand earlier this year, “The relationship between Walmart and Wonder is focused on the adaptability of our food-hall-style model, and Marc’s history with Walmart definitely helped us develop and launch this partnership.

“We believe Wonder has product-market fit everywhere, so we will continue to discuss and seek out location opportunities throughout the Northeast,” he said.

Appetite for growth

Founded in 2018 as a business based on mobile kitchens that prepared chef-designed meals outside of customers’ homes, Wonder has pivoted over the past year to a concept focused on physical locations offering options from restaurants it has licensing deals with.

Since 2023, Wonder has opened six eateries in New York City and five in New Jersey. After securing $700 million in funding earlier this year, Lore has said the new capital will allow Wonder to open 90 locations across the Northeast by the end of 2025.

Within New Jersey, plans are in the works to add stores in New Providence, Livingston, Randolph and Green Brook Township. Wonder also expects to open in Parsippany, which is where its R&D facility is located.

While the company is focused on growing its business, Lore has noted that funding will also go toward research and development.

In June, Wonder partnered with Texas-based food-as-a-service company FreshRealm to scale production. Under the 20-year-agreement, FreshRealm will help Wonder reduce costs by producing food in bigger batches and buying ingredients at a larger scale.

Other recent highlights include Wonder’s $103 million acquisition in November 2023 of meal kit provider Blue Apron. That deal expanded the startup’s offerings to include boxes of recipes and ingredients as well as heat-and-eat options.

The transaction came a few weeks after Wonder secured a $100 million investment and strategic partnership with food giant Nestlé to grow a new business-to-business offering.