Stew Leonard's


Stew Leonard's is an American regional chain of eight grocery stores in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, which Ripley's Believe It or Not! deemed "The World's Largest Dairy Store" and Fortune magazine listed as one of the "100 Best Companies to work for" in 2011.
Opened in 1969 with seven employees in Norwalk, Connecticut, the chain includes six stores in Connecticut and New York. The seventh location opened in Paramus, New Jersey, in 2019 and the eighth on May 17, 2024, in Clifton, New Jersey.
The store has a customer-service policy which greets shoppers at each store's entrance, etched into a three-ton rock.

History

Charles Leonard, a hatter in a sweatshop, founded Clover Farms Dairy in Norwalk, Connecticut, in the early 1920s. Charles' son, Stew Leonard, opened a small dairy store in 1969. By the end of the first year, the store had 10,000 weekly customers. The store soon expanded beyond dairy to include general grocery items. Stew's son, Stew Leonard Jr., helped by performing basic tasks such as washing out milk cans, loading egg shelves before becoming a cashier when he turned 14.
Stew Leonard acquired land for a second store in Danbury, Connecticut, in the mid-1980s. The store opened in 1991.
Stew Leonard Jr. took over as the CEO of Stew Leonard's in 1991, after his father, Stew Leonard Sr., was charged with a $17 million tax fraud by the IRS.
Stew Leonard's announced plans to open a store in Yonkers, New York, in 1997. The store opened in September 1999.
In 2002, the Leonard family began working to open a store on Long Island; however, plans to open a store across from the Republic Airport in Farmingdale fell through. In 2015, Stew Leonard's announced plans to open a store in Farmingdale in early 2016; the store opened in January 2016.
A store in Newington, Connecticut, was announced in February 2006 and opened in April 2007.
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 and for a 3,500-pound sculpture made of sharp cheddar cheese.
Stew Leonard Sr., the founder of the Stew Leonard's chain, died on April 26, 2023, at the age of 93.

Locations

As of 2025, there are eight locations:
  • Clifton, New Jersey
  • Danbury, Connecticut
  • East Meadow, New York
  • Farmingdale, New York
  • Newington, Connecticut
  • Norwalk, Connecticut
  • Paramus, New Jersey
  • Yonkers, New York

    Store layout

Stew Leonard's stores are not set up like traditional grocery stores. The store is set in a maze and aisles guide customers to walk through the entire store. As customers walk through the aisles, they are greeted by employees dressed up in costumes and by animatronic characters that sing songs. 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.
The New York Times called Stew Leonard's the "Disneyland of Dairy Stores."

Controversies

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. 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. Leonard Sr. was caught in June 1991 while he was carrying $80,000 cash to the Caribbean island of Saint Martin.
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. The label did not show that peanuts were a key ingredient in the recipe. Stew Leonard's 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.