How A Small Dairy Store Became World Famous
From its humble beginnings as a small dairy store founded in 1969 with seven employees, Stew Leonard's has grown to become not only the World's Largest Dairy Store, but one of the most renowned grocery stores, with annual sales of almost $500 million and more than 2,500 Team Members. In addition to the headquarters store in Norwalk, Conn., Stew Leonard's has stores in Danbury and Newington, Conn.; Yonkers, Farmingdale, and East Meadow, N.Y.; and in Paramus, N.J.
Clover Farms, a State-of-the-art Dairy
Stew Leonard's history can be traced back to the early 1920s, when Charles Leo Leonard started Clover Farms Dairy in Norwalk, Connecticut. It was a state-of-the-art dairy by the standards of the time - with a pasteurizing and bottling plant, and later on, fresh milk delivered daily by trucks that had plastic cows on the front that "mooed" for the neighborhood children.
A Highway Ran Through It
In the late sixties, Stew Leonard, Charles's son, realized the milk delivery business was going the way of the horse and buggy. He knew it was time to start something new when the state informed him that Clover Farms Dairy was in the path of a new highway. Stew Leonard's dream was to build a retail dairy store where children could watch milk being bottled while mothers did their shopping in a farmer's market atmosphere. In December 1969, Stew Leonard's opened its doors - a 17,000 square foot store carrying just eight items.
Still All in the Family
Stew Leonard's has remained a family business. In 1987, Stew Leonard, Jr. - Stew's son - took over the reins and is now President and CEO. Son Tom opened the second Stew Leonard's in Danbury Connecticut in 1991. Stew Leonard’s daughter Beth founded the famous Bethy's Bakery and heads up the Gift Center. Daughter Jill is Vice President of Culture and Communication.
The success of this family-owned business and its legion of loyal shoppers is largely due to their passionate approach to customer service: "Rule #1 -- The Customer is Always Right"; Rule #2 - If the Customer is Ever Wrong, Re-Read Rule #1." This principle is so essential to the foundation of the company that it is etched in a three-ton granite rock at each store's entrance
The Dairy Store Expands
Stew Leonard's has grown at an amazing pace - and 30 additions have since been added to the original store. Stew Leonard's has taken the fresh dairy concept and expanded into meats, fish, produce, bakery, cheese and wine. Unlike traditional grocery stores that sell an average 30,000 items, each Stew Leonard's store carries only 2,200 items, chosen specifically for their freshness, quality and value.
More Than Satisfied Customers — Satisfied Team Members
Stew Leonard's is also recognized for their management philosophy: "Take good care of your people and they in turn will take good care of your customers." It is this philosophy that has helped earn Stew Leonard's ranking on FORTUNE Magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For in America" list for 10 consecutive years.
We Care About Our Community
The Leonard family feels strongly about giving back to their loyal customers and to the community.
There are two ways that Stew Leonard’s generally gives back: through our in-store Wishing Well and through gift card donations. Money accumulated through each store’s Wishing Well is dispersed the following month to the designated charity while donations, in the form of a Stew Leonard’s gift card, are given to local 501(c)(3) organizations.
The Guinness Book of World Records
The company has received worldwide acclaim for excellence in customer service and quality and is featured in two of management expert Tom Peter's books: A Passion for Excellence and Thriving on Chaos. In 1992, Stew Leonard's earned an entry into The Guinness Book of World Records for having "the greatest sales per unit area of any single food store in the United States."
“The Disneyland of Dairy Stores”
Why is that cow upside down? Our friends at Disney told us that when coming up with fresh ideas “gravity doesn’t matter”. Stew Leonard's was dubbed the "Disneyland of Dairy Stores" by the New York Times, because of its costumed characters, scheduled entertainment, petting zoo and animatronics throughout the stores.