| Stew Leonard's | |
| Type: | Private |
| Foundation: | Norwalk, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Location: | Norwalk, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Locations: | 8 (2024) |
| Key People: | Stew Leonard Jr., President & CEO |
| Num Employees: | 2,226 (2011) |
| Industry: | Grocery store |
| Products: | Food |
| Revenue: | $341 million (2011)[1] |
Stew Leonard's is a regional chain of seven supermarkets in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, which Ripley's Believe It or Not! deemed "The World's Largest Dairy"[2] and Fortune magazine listed as one of the "100 Best Companies to work for" in 2011.[3]
Opened in 1969 with seven employees[4] in Norwalk, Connecticut, the chain now includes six stores in Connecticut and New York.[5] [6] The newest location opened on May 17, 2024 in Clifton, New Jersey.
The store is notable for its customer service policy, which greets shoppers at each store's entrance, etched into a three-ton rock:[7]
Charles Leonard, a hatter in a sweatshop,[8] founded Clover Farms Dairy in Norwalk, Connecticut, in the early 1920s.
In 1969, Stew Leonard Sr. opened the Clover Farms Dairy store in Norwalk as a retail outlet for the family dairy's products.
Stew Leonard acquired land for a second store in Danbury, Connecticut, in the mid-1980s. The store opened in 1991.[9]
Stew Leonard's announced plans to open a store in Yonkers, New York, in 1997.[10] The store opened in September 1999.[11]
In 2002, the Leonard family began working to open a store on Long Island.[12] However, plans to open a store across from the Republic Airport in Farmingdale fell through.[13] In 2015, Stew Leonard's announced plans to open a store in Farmingdale in early 2016; the store opened in January 2016.[14]
A store in Newington, Connecticut was announced in February 2006 and opened in April 2007.[15] [16]
The original Stew Leonard's store earned a position in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the highest dollar of sales per square foot of selling space[17] and for a 3,500-pound sculpture made of sharp cheddar cheese.[18]
Stew Leonard Sr., the founder of the Stew Leonard's chain, died on April 26, 2023, at the age of 93.[19]
In 1993, Stew Leonard Sr. was convicted of having committed tax fraud via an elaborate scheme to divert more than $17.1 million in cash register receipts over a 10-year period.[20] [21] The fraud, which involved a computer program designed to skim off sales, was directed by Stew Leonard Sr. in concert with the company's CFO and store manager. Skimmed cash was placed in bundles in Leonard Sr.'s office fireplace, to be later moved offshore or disguised as gifts.[22] [23] Leonard Sr. was caught in June 1991 while he was carrying $80,000 cash to the Caribbean island of Saint Martin.[24]
Leonard Sr. pled guilty to the charges and, in 1993, was sentenced to 52 months in prison.[25] He ultimately served 44 months before being released in June 1997.[26]
On January 11, 2024, New York City resident Órla Baxendale died from anaphylactic shock shortly after eating a mislabeled cookie product sold under Stew Leonard's brand name.[27] The label did not show that peanuts were a key ingredient in the recipe. Stew Leonard's has claimed that the manufacturer, Cookies United in Islip, New York, changed the recipe without notifying retailers. Cookies United came forward with multiple emails proving that they did inform retailers about the change, and they pointed out that Stew Leonard's packages the cookies themselves.[28]
There are currently three stores in Connecticut:
There are currently three stores in New York:
There are currently two stores in New Jersey:
The New York Times called Stew Leonard's the "Disneyland of Dairy Stores."[29] The stores are not set up like traditional grocery stores; the aisle configurations guide customers to walk through the entire store (although there are short cuts). As customers walk through the aisles, they are greeted by various employees dressed up in costumes and by animatronic characters, called the "Farm Fresh Five", that perform songs and dance. Perhaps their most famous animatronic is Clover, the head of Jersey cow known for her bloodcurdling moos. Stew Leonard's famous "Stew Burger", the nickname given to the store's hamburger, is often displayed by the entrance of each location. The stores also feature petting zoos and outdoor cafes in the warmer months, and offer tasting booths and a variety of prepared meals year round.[30]
"Anyone who comes from Connecticut or thereabouts knows this landmark chain of grocery stores where mechanized cows sing and roosters crow," according to a writer for the Sun-Sentinel of Florida.[31]