\n<\/p>\n
This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning.<\/em><\/p>\n When did dinner stop being an occasion and become just another transaction? The convenience of delivery apps has quietly hollowed out one of America\u2019s most beloved rituals, Ellen Cushing writes. What began as a clever fix for busy eaters has transformed how we dine: Nearly three out of every four restaurant orders are now eaten somewhere else. Dining rooms sit half empty while chefs design dishes that can survive the journey to the customer\u2019s home, and some waiters stand behind counters instead of beside tables. \u201cDelivery saved us during the pandemic,\u201d one restaurateur told her. \u201cNow they are killing us.\u201d<\/p>\n The rise of DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub has changed not just the economics of restaurants, but also their purpose. \u201cA restaurant that doesn\u2019t serve people isn\u2019t really a restaurant\u2014it\u2019s something else,\u201d Ellen writes. What was once a shared act of care\u2014welcoming people in and serving them freshly made food\u2014has evolved into a system designed for speed, not connection.<\/p>\n Derek Thompson anticipated this shift in 2019, describing how meal-delivery apps came to symbolize what he calls \u201cconvenience maximalism\u201d\u2014the instinct to make everything faster and easier, no matter the cost. Fueled by billions in venture capital, delivery platforms reshaped what we expect from food, making instant gratification feel normal while hiding the strain it places on workers, small businesses, and communities.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s newsletter explores how food delivery became both a marvel of modern life and a warning about what we lose to our growing appetite for convenience.<\/p>\n On Food Delivery<\/strong><\/p>\n The Innovation That\u2019s Killing Restaurant Culture<\/p>\n By Ellen Cushing<\/p>\n Delivery has turned America into a nation of order-inners.<\/p>\n Read the article.<\/p>\n The Booming, Ethically Dubious Business of Food Delivery<\/p>\n By Derek Thompson<\/p>\n Meal-delivery companies are the ultimate symbol of the most powerful force in business today: convenience maximalism. (From 2019<\/em>)<\/p>\n Read the article.<\/p>\n I\u2019m Risking My Life to Bring You Ramen<\/p>\n By Darcy Courteau<\/p>\n How meal delivery became surreal (From 2020<\/em>)<\/p>\n Read the article.<\/p>\n Still Curious?<\/p>\n Other Diversions<\/p>\n PS<\/p>\n Courtesy of Steve S.<\/p>\n My colleague, Isabel Fattal, recently asked readers to share a photo of something that sparks their sense of awe in the world. \u201cIt is difficult not to be in awe when the clouds are on fire as the sun sets in Del Mar, California,\u201d Steve S. writes.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll continue to feature your responses in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning. When did dinner stop being an occasion and become just another transaction? The convenience of delivery apps has<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31927,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[18508,6021,9670],"class_list":{"0":"post-31926","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-social-issues","8":"tag-ate","9":"tag-delivery","10":"tag-restaurant"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31926\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}