The food hall chain Wonder, featuring takeout and delivery, opened its first Maryland location on Nov. 6 on Baltimore Avenue in College Park in the building once occupied by Bagel Place.

Customers can order food from more than 15 restaurants and brands, including Bobby Flay Steak, Tejas Barbecue and Detroit Brick Pizza, all owned by New York-based Wonder Group, which also owns Grubhub.

“The city has been working hard, and our economic development staff in particular have been working hard to try to really bring an exciting concept here,” said College Park City Councilmember John Rigg (District 3). “And I think they hit it out of the park.”

Several city government officials attended the opening.

Wonder was founded by entrepreneur Marc Lore in 2018 and has more than 70 locations along the East Coast. The company is headquartered in New York City.

Every Wonder location features food from at least 10 restaurants, all operating out of one kitchen.

Because the College Park location is small with a single kitchen, Rigg said the business might be less expensive to operate than a traditional food hall, which could help it thrive in College Park.

“We want them to be successful, and we want them to be here for a long time,” Rigg said.

The company’s media representative declined a request from College Park Here & Now for an interview with a Wonder official but sent an email saying, “College Park is a natural fit for our first Maryland location.”

Michael Williams, College Park’s economic development director, said the city was looking for a business to fill the building left empty by Bagel Place, which closed in 2021.

“We felt like the residents would like the variety that [Wonder] offered,” Williams said. “We’re just happy to have them here and happy to have them in this prominent corner.”

Williams continued, “This is the epicenter of downtown College Park. This is the center of the foot traffic, right? You’ve got walkers all the time here.”

Mayor Fazlul Kabir said it was exciting to see Wonder establish its first Maryland location in College Park.

“It’s a milestone and College Park is very lucky to have them,” Kabir said.

The company is scheduled to open a second Maryland location in Baltimore on Nov. 13.