Stew Leonard’s to open its second NJ location

Stew Leonard’s, the Connecticut-based grocery store chain, known for its wacky characters, held an event last week announcing that the new store in Clifton will be opening next summer.

The company is known for its unique shopping experience, which includes animatronic characters, petting zoos, and costumed characters. As a matter of fact, it’s known as the “Disneyland of Dairy Stores.”

The stores have more of a boutique feel; unlike traditional grocery stores that sell an average of 45,000 items, each Stew Leonard’s store carries only 3,200 items.

Stew Leonard's was founded in 1969 by Stew Leonard Sr., who started out with a small dairy farm in Norwalk, Connecticut. The store quickly became popular, and Stew Leonard's expanded to other locations in Connecticut and New York.

In 2019, Stew Leonard's opened its first location in New Jersey in Paramus.

According to NorthJersey, "This will be our eighth store," said Stew Leonard Jr., CEO and son of the founder of the supermarket chain who died in April. "We like Clifton's diverse and dense population," he said at the site of the new store.

Joining Leonard at the groundbreaking event were Wow the Cow, Stewie the Duck, and a 356-pound pumpkin.

Leonard shared some statistics at the event: the chain sold 800,000 chocolate cookies and the same number of donut holes.

The chain will do 500 million dollars in gross revenue this year; the Clifton and Paramus stores will add $5 million in local tax revenue.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle only.

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