Stu Leonard, founder of the popular grocery chain, dies at 93

a job

by Catherine Dunleavy

April 27, 2023 | 5:47 p.m

Stew Leonard, founder of the popular Connecticut grocery store chain that bears his name, died Wednesday at the age of 93.

The businessman died of a “brief illness” while staying at Lenox Hill Hospital.

“Yesterday, my father passed away at the age of 93 and a half holding my mother’s hand. They had been married for 70 years. I knew this day would come but I was still trying to wrap myself around it. Just a month ago, he was swimming in a pond,” his son and successor, Said Stewie Leonard Jr.

Leonard opened his first dairy store in his native Norwalk, Connecticut, in 1969 after working for several years as a salesman for his family’s dairy products.

The 17,000-square-foot store — which originally had just eight items — earned the title of “World’s Largest Dairy Store” in Ripley’s Believe It or Not, as well as a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the highest dollar sales per meter. Square. feet of selling space.

Leonard’s opened a second location in Connecticut in 1991 and continued to expand until the chain sprouted across New York and New Jersey. There are seven locations across the three states.

He received many honors throughout his life, including the 1986 Presidential Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence given to him by former President Ronald Reagan.

The regional supermarket, valued at an estimated $600 million, has been a hit and was named one of FORTUNE magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For Ten Years in a Row” — recently experiencing a 50% hit to Bud Light sales amid a controversial partnership with Dylan Mulvaney .

Aside from running his $600 million company, Leonard was an avid surfer and outdoorsman. He won the North American Water Ski Championships in 1956 and set a world and national record for total points for water skiing in 1959.

Leonard stepped down as CEO in 2014 and handed over the reigns to his eldest son, Stewie.

He leaves behind his wife, Marianne. children Stewie, Tom, Pete and Jill; 13 grandchildren and more than 2,200 employees.

“He always had an inspiring vision that offered hope and a brighter future. Boy, am I going to miss that!” Stewie wrote.