Has anyone tried the Wonder Truck?

I see the truck around town.  I have to say - the prices seem pretty reasonable - curious to hear feedback from those who have tried it.   

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/wonder-food-delivery/id1504180759

It seems like a crazy business model.   I don't see how they can make money given thw time and resources involved in going to one house and cooking there.  

jamie said:

I see the truck around town.  I have to say - the prices seem pretty reasonable - curious to hear feedback from those who have tried it.   

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/wonder-food-delivery/id1504180759

We've had some wonderful meals with them. We had a small gathering where the four of us ordered as if we were in a restaurant. The truck pulls up and the chef makes it all in the truck/van. Then they walk up to your door. Food is warmer and in better serving condition.  You can pay and tip in the app and bub is right, it doesn't cost what you pay in restaurants. Hopefully they have the business model worked out.

Sounds like the use a central kitchen for the initial prep then do the finishing in the truck kitchen. Not that the whole meal is cooked on the truck. 

mrincredible said:

Sounds like the use a central kitchen for the initial prep then do the finishing in the truck kitchen. Not that the whole meal is cooked on the truck. 

they'd be bankrupt by now if they cooked the meal from scratch in the truck

mrincredible said:

Sounds like the use a central kitchen for the initial prep then do the finishing in the truck kitchen. Not that the whole meal is cooked on the truck. 

From what I gather the chefs are trained and judged or evaluated on whether they can replicate that restaurant's menu items before they're working on a truck. I was walking down our street one night and a Wonder truck was parked outside another home down the block so I struck up a conversation with the driver. He didn't say that particular detail but he did say they carry all the stuff needed on the trucks to be able to take and order and be able to deliver it in under an hour. 

Sometimes traffic messes things up or ordering at a busy time can gum up the works but a key thing here is that the chef, oven, and stove are on your street. Finish preparing the meal and deliver it in a very very short trip rather than having it picked up at a restaurant and delivered. I haven't seen lots and lots of the trucks so I suppose they have enough items in that "ready for the next step" phase. We were surprised. Pizza has been so much better than take-out and the cost isn't a killer. I do hope the chef and driver are paid well though.

drummerboy said:

mrincredible said:

Sounds like the use a central kitchen for the initial prep then do the finishing in the truck kitchen. Not that the whole meal is cooked on the truck. 

they'd be bankrupt by now if they cooked the meal from scratch in the truck

I dunno. My wife is quite the food snob what with all the cooking shows she watches. Since we're regular customers, maybe she can do a ride-along with Jamie as an advertising thing for the MOL area.

https://qz.com/2099820/jet-founder-marc-lore-is-launching-wonder-a-food-delivery-startup/

Operating like a so-called ghost kitchen, Wonder will re-create meals from famous chefs such as Bobby Flay and well-known restaurants. The food is prepared and packaged in a large central kitchen before being distributed to smaller kitchen hubs from where it can then be delivered by Wonder’s vehicles, CNBC reported. To keep the food hot, the meal is finished inside the food trucks en route to the destination. The startup is currently delivering meals in New Jersey.

ETA: so the truck is actually the third stop for the mostly prepared food.

Have you gotten delivery in SO/Maplewood? The app says it’s not available in my area (EO). Maybe because I’m in an apartment building?

drummerboy said:

https://qz.com/2099820/jet-founder-marc-lore-is-launching-wonder-a-food-delivery-startup/

Operating like a so-called ghost kitchen, Wonder will re-create meals from famous chefs such as Bobby Flay and well-known restaurants. The food is prepared and packaged in a large central kitchen before being distributed to smaller kitchen hubs from where it can then be delivered by Wonder’s vehicles, CNBC reported. To keep the food hot, the meal is finished inside the food trucks en route to the destination. The startup is currently delivering meals in New Jersey.

ETA: so the truck is actually the third stop for the mostly prepared food.

It looks like they're only servicing 4 towns, though I don't know which four.

Also, Gwyneth Paltrow is on the board. (groan)

algebra2 said:

I've seen the truck on Parker and Prospect.

I've watched to many restaurant horror shows over the pandemic to eat out much anymore. Basically I need to be able to see the food being prepped/cooked so this might be something I could try. Are they regulated/inspected at all or just free to do as they please. 

Truck was parked in front of neighbor's home (MPLWD) last weekend--they raved about it.

The flaw in the business plan.... most peeps will want their supper between, say, 5:30 and 7:30. That means loads of trucks sitting around during the day, doing nothing. Then they have to hire hundreds of part timers for 2 hours a day.

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

The flaw in the business plan.... most peeps will want their supper between, say, 5:30 and 7:30. That means loads of trucks sitting around during the day, doing nothing. Then they have to hire hundreds of part timers for 2 hours a day.

I think you’re underestimating how late people eat dinner around here.

There’s also plenty of work do to be done. Food needs to be prepped. Garlic needs to be chopped. Potatoes need to be peeled. Ducks need to be pressed. 

The trucks have to be cleaned and loaded. Then brought back, unloaded and cleaned again. 


Do they also have a lunch time service?

Will see if the market sustains the business. 

I don't see how a delivery only system can make it. Doesn't seem like they can ever do enough of a volume business.

Wonder what the markup is?

Anyone know how long a single stop/delivery takes?

I mean, what the hell do I know about running a food service, but it seems like a dumb idea, and will probably be dead within a year. Maybe longer as it seems Marc Lore has gotten a lot of funding.

Was there some consumer base clamoring for this "solution"?

Plus, Gwyneth Paltrow.

So someone is in the back cooking while someone else drives to the location? Seems incredibly dangerous, but as previously mentioned by another post, I have no knowledge of the current restaurant business. (I am also curious how Wonder can afford to have so many expensive trucks if they’re only doing one or two dinner stops each day. Eateries make their money by turning over tables as often as possible.)

Heynj said:

So someone is in the back cooking while someone else drives to the location? Seems incredibly dangerous, but as previously mentioned by another post, I have no knowledge of the current restaurant business. (I am also curious how Wonder can afford to have so many expensive trucks if they’re only doing one or two dinner stops each day. Eateries make their money by turning over tables as often as possible.)

I didn't ask that particular question. I assume that they make some kind of compromise, the driver and the chef. Things can be staged and ready for action as soon as the truck arrives and parks I suppose.

They give you an ETY (estimated time of yummm) soon after you place your order and they keep you updated on their progress. I made up that ETY thing.

Yeah, I can't imagine they're cooking while driving. By the time the food gets to the truck it's probably almost 100% cooked and just needs to be heated.

The logistics of cooking a steak and then heating it up again without overcooking it seems tough. Though maybe a steak can actually be cooked in the truck from raw.

So three people here who have never tried or used a business just can't stop trying to tear them down.  Why not just wish them luck and let them carry on?

DanDietrich said:

So three people here who have never tried or used a business just can't stop trying to tear them down.  Why not just wish them luck and let them carry on?

Because this is MOL.

drummerboy said:

DanDietrich said:

So three people here who have never tried or used a business just can't stop trying to tear them down.  Why not just wish them luck and let them carry on?

Because this is MOL.

its your MOL.

I’m fascinated to see what the inside of the truck looks like. A propane grill and stovetop could be pretty quickly secured for travel and fired up at the destination.

I agree that a steak could be finished at the location pretty easily. Sauces could be put together and poured on food thats cooked and kept in a warmer. Probably pots of boiling water are a hazard but they could use an Instant Pot or something along those lines to quickly make rice or other sides. An air fryer to crisp up French fries or spring rolls would be doable as well without worrying about hot oil.

I’m often doing some kind of reheating on takeout anyway. Stuff gets soggy in the containers. One place I know makes a great steak so I order it rare then put it in a hot skillet for 2 minutes for a perfect medium rare filet with some sizzle. 
I think they figured out a way to capitalize on the basic idea.

Any time I see the trucks on the road, including three tonight, there is only one person up front, which is what made me wonder if someone’s in the back while on the road. Then above, someone cut and pasted a blurb that said the meal is being cooked “en route.”

Heynj said:

Any time I see the trucks on the road, including three tonight, there is only one person up front, which is what made me wonder if someone’s in the back while on the road. Then above, someone cut and pasted a blurb that said the meal is being cooked “en route.”

Was that the driver? The one I spoke with was just there to drive and was reading his phone. That doesn't mean he hadn't helped with the prep and it was now the chef doing the stuff that needed an oven or burners. The truck is out there for a good 15 minutes or more before the chef comes to your door. I could tell the rib roast I ordered once was fresh from the kitchen. Like I said, this is a level above take-out. The main difference night only be that the items aren't served on an actual plate.

We were surprised at how the prices aren't bad at all so my wife insists on giving them a better tip than we normally would give at a sit-down restaurant. I just hope the chef (and driver) get to keep it all. We definitely would like this kind of thing to survive.

We have enjoyed Pizeria Mozza's food a few times. Except for one time when traffic messed up their progress, it has been very close to the time given. 

I put the app on my phone last night, and expect we'll give it a try.  I also suspect that the prices will rise as the venture capital gets used up (like the Uber model).  The prices for many of the offerings look a bit too good to be true, so they may build business by undercutting local takeout/delivery.  On the flip side, the menus are very short, presumably to optimize storage and finishing in a small truck, and to keep things cost efficient.

However, to me this looks like a possible Webvan problem, of building far too much infrastructure for the amount of profit to be made.  Anyone remember Webvan?  Ran through a billion or so in VC trying to build their own grocery/dry-cleaning/shoe-repair delivery infrastructure rather than working through a grocery chain.  

We still use Webvan bags for drycleaning and their plastic bins for storage, and still use the key lockbox that they installed on our garage...   

supposedly WO is not included, yet I see trucks in town all the time.

PeterWick said:

mrincredible said:

Sounds like the use a central kitchen for the initial prep then do the finishing in the truck kitchen. Not that the whole meal is cooked on the truck. 

From what I gather the chefs are trained and judged or evaluated on whether they can replicate that restaurant's menu items before they're working on a truck. I was walking down our street one night and a Wonder truck was parked outside another home down the block so I struck up a conversation with the driver. He didn't say that particular detail but he did say they carry all the stuff needed on the trucks to be able to take and order and be able to deliver it in under an hour. 

Sometimes traffic messes things up or ordering at a busy time can gum up the works but a key thing here is that the chef, oven, and stove are on your street. Finish preparing the meal and deliver it in a very very short trip rather than having it picked up at a restaurant and delivered. I haven't seen lots and lots of the trucks so I suppose they have enough items in that "ready for the next step" phase. We were surprised. Pizza has been so much better than take-out and the cost isn't a killer. I do hope the chef and driver are paid well though.

Hmmm. I'm gonna tip more tomorrow night. For sure.