Stew Leonard Sr., founder of famous grocery store chain, dies at 93
Stew Leonard Sr., the founder of the famous grocery store chain that shared his name, has died at the age of 93.
Leonard was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, and opened the first Stew Leonard's in 1969 as a retail dairy store.
It was designed to be a store where children could watch milk being bottled.
It grew into the first of seven supermarkets filled with food grown in the region, but it's still a unique experience.
When weather permits, there are still live farm animals for the kids.
It was named the "World's Largest Dairy Store" by Ripley's Believe it or Not and earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the highest dollar sales per square foot of selling space.
Since then, the grocery store chain has grown to become a $600 million family owned and operated business.
Leonard retired from a formal role in the family business in the '90s after he and the business survived a tax fraud scandal.
His son, who took over, said customers and workers were loyal to the business.
"I'd call him up and say, Dad, come on over and let's walk around the store," Stew Jr. said. "And he'd come over here. We'd spend hours walking through the store together. Customers would hug him and kiss them, team members would hug him and kiss him. And he just beamed ear to ear. That was his joy."
Leonard died at Lenox Hill Hospital after a brief illness. He is survived by his wife of 70 years, four children and 13 grandchildren.
There will be a public visitation on Monday, May 1 from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at St. Matthew's Church in Norwalk.
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