Wonder, the food-hall and delivery platform founded by former Walmart e-commerce chief Marc Lore, is partnering with drone-delivery operator Zipline to fly meals across Texas. The two companies announced the deal at the end of June and detailed rollout plans on July 1, 2026, positioning Dallas as the launch market for a partnership that will eventually cover 100+ Wonder locations across the state.
Dallas Goes Live in January 2027
Beginning in January 2027, Wonder customers in Dallas will be able to order aerial delivery of meals from names like Bobby Flay Steak, Streetbird by Marcus Samuelsson, Tejas Barbecue and Di Fara Pizza. Zipline's Platform 2 drones cruise at altitude and lower orders by tether from about 300 feet up, sidestepping the noise and airspace problems that grounded earlier residential drone concepts.
Wonder is designing new storefronts, kitchens and ordering tech around the Zipline Dropbox — a keypad-secured drawer where restaurant staff hand off completed orders. "Partnering with Zipline allows us to push the boundaries of what's possible," said Tony Hoggett, CEO of Wonder North America, framing the deal as core to Wonder's Texas expansion rather than a marketing add-on.
Zipline's Texas Foothold Keeps Widening
The Wonder deal builds on Zipline's rapidly expanding Texas network. After scaling across 22 municipalities in 2025, Zipline crossed 2 million commercial deliveries in January 2026 and raised a $600M funding round to underwrite U.S. expansion. Houston is already online, with Austin and Phoenix scheduled by quarter-end, followed by another six major metros before 2027. Restaurant partners now include Panera Bread, Jet's Pizza, Jersey Mike's and Crumbl Cookies, alongside its long-running Walmart delivery relationship.
Making Delivery A Growth Driver, Not A Tax
Zipline's pitch to restaurants is that autonomous overhead flight solves food-quality problems that ground-based couriers cannot — Bobby Flay steaks arriving hot, salads arriving cold, no delivery bags jostled through traffic. "By taking traffic out of the equation, Wonder can now offer customers their menu with confidence that every meal will arrive exactly as their chefs intended," said Chris Kenney, head of national partnerships at Zipline. For Wonder, the tie-up reinforces its bet that autonomous logistics — not gig couriers — is the next chapter for restaurant delivery.
Reporting based on coverage from PR Newswire, Food On Demand and Retail Technology Innovation Hub.