NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Stew Leonard Sr., the founder of the famed tri-state grocery chain that shared his name, has died at 93, his family announced Thursday.
"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," their statement said.
Leonard was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, and opened his first Stew Leonard's in 1969 as a retail dairy store.
The Stew Leonard's grocery store at Paramus Park Mall.Mitsu Yasukawa/ Northjersey.com, North Jersey Record via Imagn Content Services, LLC
Since then, the legendary grocery chain has not only become the "World's Largest Dairy Store," according to Ripley's Believe It or Not, but has also earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the highest dollar sales per square foot of selling space.
Stew Leonard's is now a $600 million family-owned and operated business.
