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Stew Leonard’s Celebrates 40th Anniversary

Stew Leonard Sr., the milkman who turned a small dairy store into a chain of unique supermarkets bearing his name, celebrated the 40th anniversary of its founding at its flagship store Tuesday.

Jon Springer, Executive Editor

November 11, 2009

1 Min Read
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JON SPRINGER

NORWALK, Conn. – Stew Leonard Sr., the milkman who turned a small dairy store into a chain of unique supermarkets bearing his name, celebrated the 40th anniversary of its founding at its flagship store here Tuesday.

Stew Leonard’s also unveiled a 5,000-square-foot addition to the store showcasing expanded departments including bakery and coffee; and new pizza and pasta stations.

The addition was the 27th since the store was founded in December of 1969, during which it has grown from 17,000 square feet to more than 100,000 square feet, Stew Leonard Jr., son of the founder and chief executive officer of the four-store chain, told SN in an interview at the event.

“I don’t think there was ever a moment where we thought we could grow into something like this,” Leonard Jr. said. “It was more of a matter of adding things slowly and doing what our customers wanted.”

Leonard Sr., 80 and now retired, also unveiled a newly published biography at the event.

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About the Author

Jon Springer

Executive Editor

Jon Springer is executive editor of Winsight Grocery Business with responsibility for leading its digital news team. Jon has more than 20 years of experience covering consumer business and retail in New York, including more than 14 years at the Retail/Financial desk at Supermarket News. His previous experience includes covering consumer markets for KPMG’s Insiders; the U.S. beverage industry for Beverage Spectrum; and he was a Senior Editor covering commercial real estate and retail for the International Council of Shopping Centers. Jon began his career as a sports reporter and features editor for the Cecil Whig, a daily newspaper in Elkton, Md. Jon is also the author of two books on baseball. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English-Journalism from the University of Delaware. He lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. with his family.

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