Thanks so much for reading and sharing that piece of mine!
I could've done without all of the negative comments, racist/hateful remarks, and outright absurd reads that people decided to take, but I'm glad to hear someone else recognize the ridiculousness of it all.
I feel like comments like that are another way, like ghost kitchens, where the anonymity of the internet break down important social functions. Convenience is nice, but it's not a completely free exchange. We do lose stuff in the process. The problem is that we're often bad at quantifying those losses.
totally unsurprised that ghost kitchens failed and while I can't speak to the real estate part, the point about trust is absolutely right. what they didn't recognize is that food is fundamentally different from other things we buy. It is literally how we stay alive! Every culture has traditions that involve bonding over food because food is special. And it can also make you very sick, even kill you, if not handled correctly. People are willing to buy physical objects from what are basically ghost stores like Amazon where you can have no contact with accountable human beings because the stakes are much lower with a book or a set of towels or whatever. Food is very different.
I was bullish on ghost kitchens too but I think got the concept a bit wrong. What Marc Lore is doing with Wonder is an iteration on the theme. I don’t like it. I was recently in a strange town and looking for a fun place to eat and up popped Wonder acting like it was a local spot.
Oh yeah, I very much dislike Wonder. It's upscale overpriced frozen food ripping off the "food hall" idea. I actually mentioned it in a piece about businesses being run by generic businesspeople instead of actual entrepreneurs.
Thanks so much for reading and sharing that piece of mine!
I could've done without all of the negative comments, racist/hateful remarks, and outright absurd reads that people decided to take, but I'm glad to hear someone else recognize the ridiculousness of it all.
I feel like comments like that are another way, like ghost kitchens, where the anonymity of the internet break down important social functions. Convenience is nice, but it's not a completely free exchange. We do lose stuff in the process. The problem is that we're often bad at quantifying those losses.
totally unsurprised that ghost kitchens failed and while I can't speak to the real estate part, the point about trust is absolutely right. what they didn't recognize is that food is fundamentally different from other things we buy. It is literally how we stay alive! Every culture has traditions that involve bonding over food because food is special. And it can also make you very sick, even kill you, if not handled correctly. People are willing to buy physical objects from what are basically ghost stores like Amazon where you can have no contact with accountable human beings because the stakes are much lower with a book or a set of towels or whatever. Food is very different.
I was bullish on ghost kitchens too but I think got the concept a bit wrong. What Marc Lore is doing with Wonder is an iteration on the theme. I don’t like it. I was recently in a strange town and looking for a fun place to eat and up popped Wonder acting like it was a local spot.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/05/marc-lore-says-that-ai-will-soon-enable-anyone-open-a-restaurant/
Oh yeah, I very much dislike Wonder. It's upscale overpriced frozen food ripping off the "food hall" idea. I actually mentioned it in a piece about businesses being run by generic businesspeople instead of actual entrepreneurs.
Thank you so much for sharing my piece! :) Honored to be included. (I'm actually a woman btw)