Stew Leonard's to Open in Farmingdale

Stew Leonard’s, a food-lover’s wonderland, is opening its first Long Island grocery in Farmingdale in early 2016, the company announced.

Known for its farm-fresh milk, “from scratch” in-store bakery, cut-to-order butcher shop, and fresh seafood department, the store will be located in Kimco Realty Corp.’s Airport Plaza shopping center, across from the Stew Leonard’s Wines of Farmingdale store.

The new 60,000 square foot store will provide up to 400 jobs, many of them full-time, according to the company.

A Long Island location has been in the works for more than decade.

“We are thrilled to finally be building a Stew Leonard’s in Farmingdale,” said Stew Leonard, Jr., the company’s president and CEO.

“This has been a dream of our family’s since 2002, when we first started exploring options for a new store on Long Island,” he added. “We know we’ll be welcomed with open arms by all of our friends in Farmingdale and throughout Suffolk County.”

Founded as a dairy store in 1969 in Norwalk, Connecticut, the family-owned and operated store has three additional locations in Danbury and Newington, Conn. and in Yonkers.

The company has since made a name for itself for selling produce from local farmers.

It’s “a business model that Suffolk County embraces and supports,” County Executive Steve Bellone said.

“The Farmingdale location will create hundreds of jobs and support our local agricultural industry, which are both vital to the economic prosperity of Suffolk County and our region,” Bellone added. “This has been a long time coming and I wish them all the future success.”

For many food shoppers, the store is a destination, complete with a country-fair atmosphere, with costumed characters and animated entertainment throughout the shop, entertaining children while their parents shop.

At a time when shopping centers struggle with vacancies, many say Stew Leonard’s will be a welcome presence. Kimco’s Northeast Regional President Josh Weinkranz called Stew Leonard’s a “highly-regarded, one-of-a-kind grocer that will be a wonderful addition to the shopping center.”

Ronkonkoma-based J. Petrocelli Contracting will begin construction on the new store in early 2015, officials said.

Image: Courtesy Stew Leonard’s

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