Wonder expands robot food delivery to Hoboken, Philly

Upscale food hall chain Wonder is giving even more customers the option to have their orders delivered by self-driving robots.

Last fall, Wonder began offering robot-powered delivery from its Jersey City outpost as part of a pilot with autonomous vehicle startup Avride. Now, the service is scaling to include additional communities as well as more merchants on the Wonder-owned Grubhub platform.

The newly included territories of Hoboken, Philadelphia and Arlington County, Va., each have at least one Wonder location, the company noted.

PJ Poykayil is executive vice president of customer delivery operations at Wonder. “This expansion reflects our belief that the future of food delivery will be faster, smarter and increasingly powered by technology,” he shared.

“As we scale our Jersey City pilot and expand … we’re bringing autonomous delivery to more merchants on the Grubhub marketplace – unlocking new efficiencies while creating a more seamless experience for customers,” Poykayil said.

The pilot served as Wonder’s introduction into the world of robot delivery. It also marked the first time Grubhub provided autonomous delivery outside of a college campus.

Through Grubhub’s campus offering, Wonder and Avride continue to operate at dozens of colleges across the country. That includes the nation’s largest single-site robot food delivery program at The Ohio State University. In Columbus, 120 robots complete up to 2,000 deliveries per day, the partners said.

How it works

Under the expanded partnership, customers ordering from eligible restaurants on the Grubhub marketplace may be assigned a robot for delivery if:

• They opt in, and
• Their address falls within the service area

They can then use the Grubhub app to track the robot and receive instructions on how to retrieve their items.

Robots navigate city streets and sidewalks using a combination of advanced software and cameras. They can also identify pedestrians, vehicles, pets and other obstacles, according to Wonder and Avride. Both companies said the robots prioritize privacy by automatically blurring faces and license plates. Additionally, they say the cameras only support navigation and safety and don’t record personal information.

See the robots in action (video provided by Grubhub):

“Through ongoing collaboration, the partners have aligned on safety protocols, operating guidelines and thoughtful deployment to integrate the robots seamlessly into existing urban infrastructure. That approach reflects a shared commitment to innovation, accessibility and enhancing the delivery experience for all members of the community,” they said.

Since the October 2025 launch in Jersey City, robots have made nearly 20% of deliveries from Wonder’s Grove Street eatery, the companies said.

A Wonder representative shared with NJBIZ that, through the Wonder and Avride partnership, nearly 100 restaurants across Jersey City and Hoboken currently offer robot delivery.

A ‘no-brainer’

Avride CEO Dmitry Polishchuk shared, “We are excited to build on our successful track record with Wonder as we expand our collaboration with both Wonder and the Grubhub marketplace.”

“Our fully autonomous technology, combined with our extensive experience operating delivery robots in dense urban environments, ensures that we can deliver a reliable, seamless service for our partners at scale,” he said.

Besides making mealtime more convenient for customers, the program helps restaurants manage pickups during busy periods at no extra cost. After some training and support, eateries can integrate the technology to give customers a new delivery option, the partners said.

Catherine Willhoit, co-founder of Hudson County-born The Hive, said, “Saying yes to Grubhub and Avride was a no-brainer. As a growing coffee and bakeshop, we’re always looking for ways to give our customers a great experience from our counter to their front door.”

It’s also pretty wild watching our cinnamon rolls and drinks cruise through the streets of Jersey City all on their own.
– Catherine Willhoit, co-founder, The Hive

“The robots are easy for our team to use and efficiently deliver our orders, and we’d be lying if we said we weren’t slightly excited every time we load an order into their cabins. It’s also pretty wild watching our cinnamon rolls and drinks cruise through the streets of Jersey City all on their own,” she said.

In addition to its Jersey City location, The Hive has a spot in Hoboken. The six-year-old brand regularly earns praise for its creative coffee drinks, kid-friendly play space and cinnamon rolls.

Hudson County training grounds

As two of the most densely populated areas in New Jersey, Jersey City and Hoboken have become testing grounds for last-mile delivery technology.

Last year, Uber Eats teamed with Avride to introduce robot food delivery in Jersey City as part of a larger multiyear partnership. Since then, they have more than doubled the service’s local operating territory. It now serves more than 100 eateries.

Jersey City and Hoboken also have city-backed sidewalk robot pilot programs. Both efforts are run in partnership with Coco Robotics and Avride.

Besides testing self-driving robots for delivery, Wonder was the first eatery in New Jersey to experiment with allowing customers to receive their orders via drone. During a three-month pilot earlier this year in Green Brook, autonomous delivery technology company Dexa tested the integration of drones within Grubhub.

Founded in 2018 by billionaire entrepreneur Marc Lore, Wonder allows customers to 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 at its 150-plus locations across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.

Within New Jersey, Wonder has 28 eateries, as well as an R&D facility in Parsippany.

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