Danbury Officials Confirm Safety Upgrades Behind Stew Leonard’s Hoedown Upgrade

DANBURY, CT — The City of Danbury is working closely with Stew Leonard’s to address fire safety concerns that have led to temporary changes to the popular Hoedown tent, officials said.

Stew Leonard's at 99 Federal Road has recently switched to a modified menu for its Hoedown annex, purging all hot and fried foods from the menu, while management scrambles to deploy a food truck in its place temporarily.

A fire inspection conducted on Oct. 31, 2024, by the Danbury Fire Marshal’s Office identified two violations related to the tent’s commercial cooking operations. Inspectors found that the existing exhaust fan was not designed to handle grease-laden vapors, and cooking equipment was being operated without an approved hood and suppression system, according to a city spokesperson.

“The exhaust fan currently in use is not compliant and must be discontinued immediately,” Taylor O'Brien, Mayor Alves' Chief of Staff told Patch. In April 2025, a follow-up inspection found the violations had not yet been corrected.

Since then, city officials have granted extensions while working with Stew Leonard’s on new, safer solutions. The City’s efforts have included consultations with the State Fire Marshal’s Office, which confirmed in May 2025 that the cooking setup did not meet state fire safety codes, including the Connecticut State Fire Safety Code and NFPA 96 standards, according to O'Brien.

The flashpoint occurred when Connecticut tax chief Mark Boughton, who served ten consecutive terms as mayor from 2001 to 2020, took to social media Tuesday to urge the popular eatery to "Fight the Power." He noted that the Hoedown Tent has "been operating the same way for over a decade."

For the current City administration, that's not an excuse, that's the problem.

"It's no secret that the City of Danbury fell behind on inspections over the last couple of decades due to annual cuts in staff and lack of resources," O'Brien said. "Our City has grown exponentially over the years, and since Mayor Alves took office, one of his greatest initiatives has been to right-size and right-track City departments. He has also been clear that public safety is one of his top priorities."

Stew Leonard's Marketing Director Megan Bell did not have any insights as to when the Hoedown Tent would be fired back up when Patch spoke with her on Tuesday, but made it clear everything would be up to code when it was.

"We're doing everything the city of Danbury needs us to do to have a great, delicious space for people to eat, and as soon as we're back in action, we'll be shouting it from the rooftops," Bell said.