Wonder Acquires NYC's Salt Hank's

Wonder has acquired Salt Hank's, a popular single-unit New York City restaurant. The food hall and delivery company will make the brand's French dip sandwiches available across its more than 140 outlets, starting on the Upper East Side this fall.

Salt Hank's was opened last year by food influencer Henry Laporte (also known as Salt Hank), Ian Henderson-Charnow, and chef Daniel Rubenfeld. The original location on Bleecker Street in the West Village will remain open. Chef Daniel Rubenfeld will join the Wonder team, while Henry Laporte is partnering closely with Wonder on the expansion. Ian Henderson-Charnow will stay involved as an advisor.

This purchase follows Wonder's recent acquisitions of Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken and Mighty Quinn's BBQ. The company continues its strategy of buying popular NYC restaurants to scale their reach.

Robot Delivery Shifts

The robotic delivery firm Serve has formed a new partnership with Grubhub. This follows the end of its relationship with Uber.

Uber fully divested from Serve in early August, according to a regulatory filing. Serve CEO Ali Kashani stated on an August 6 earnings call that the companies had different operational views. He said Serve does not expect to renew its partnership with Uber when it expires in early 2027. Serve's new deal with Wonder-owned Grubhub will offer robot delivery in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Alexandria, Virginia. Serve also partners with DoorDash.

Executive Moves and AI Funding

POS company Qu has hired Paul Rubin as its chief product and technology officer. Rubin is a restaurant tech pioneer who founded Brink POS. He later spent over a decade at Par Technology after it acquired Brink. Qu stated Rubin will help restaurants navigate advances in artificial intelligence and edge technologies.

Palona, a company offering AI systems for restaurants, has raised $20 million. The Series A funding round included Ardenwood Ventures, CrimsonOx, and others. Palona began with an AI voice system for taking phone orders. It now offers AI to identify missed revenue and uses AI vision with cameras to monitor operations.

MarginEdge, which helps restaurants digitize back-office processes, has raised new funding. The Series D round was led by Schooner Capital and Ten Coves Capital. It nearly doubles the company's total funding to $162 million. MarginEdge will use the funds to bring more AI into its technology, including an AI assistant called Tom the Tomato.

New Tech for Restaurants

OpenTable has announced more than 20 new features. Many involve artificial intelligence. Highlights include integrations with large language models like Google Gemini and ChatGPT, a conversational reporting tool in testing, and table automations that adjust table minimums based on demand. OpenTable also now has over 20 voice AI partners worldwide.

Ansa, which provides digital wallets for small restaurants, is being acquired by Rain. Rain offers cards and digital wallets for stablecoin cryptocurrency. Ansa founder Sophia Goldberg is joining Rain as head of payments. Terms were not disclosed.

The report comes from Nation's Restaurant News.