Stew Leonard Sr., Founder Of Grocery Chain With LI Stores, Dies At 93

NORWALK, CT — Stew Leonard Sr., the 93-year-old founder of the Stew Leonard's supermarket chain, with locations in East Meadow and Farmingdale, died Wednesday at a New York hospital following a brief illness.

The store announced the senior Leonard's passing Thursday afternoon on the store's website and Facebook page, along with an obituary detailing his life and career.

"We are sad to announce that Stew Leonard Sr., the founder of Stew Leonard's, passed away peacefully on April 26, 2023, at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York," store officials said on Facebook.

Gov. Ned Lamont tweeted Thursday he was saddened to hear of Leonard's passing.

"Stew founded an iconic Connecticut business that is more than a grocery store," Lamont said, "it's a place where thousands of families have created memories over several generations. My heart goes out to the entire Leonard family and everyone at at Stew Leonard's."

A Westport resident, Leonard was born in Norwalk on Dec. 1, 1929. He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Marianne Guthman Leonard, and their four children, including Stew Leonard Jr., the company's current CEO, as well as 13 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

Leonard was a graduate of Norwalk High School and of the University of Connecticut's School of Agriculture. He first worked for his family's dairy business at Clover Farms Dairy in Norwalk, a state-of-the-art dairy complete with a pasteurizing and bottling plant and fresh milk delivered daily by trucks with plastic cows on the front that "mooed" for the neighborhood children, according to the store.

In December 1969, he opened Stew Leonard's flagship Norwalk store, which at the time sold only eight items. The store became known as 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, according to the store.

While Stew Leonard's remains family-owned, the business now operates seven store locations in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. The company is run by Leonard Jr. with help from his siblings, Tom Leonard, Beth Leonard Hollis and Jill Leonard Tavello.

A memorial service and burial will be private, and a celebration of life will be announced at a later date, according to the store.

Read the full obituary here.