Stew Leonard’s sets open for NJ’s 2nd food and wine store

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Farm-fresh, family-run grocery chain Stew Leonard’s is preparing to open its second supermarket in New Jersey.

The 5,000-square-foot store will open May 17 at the Styertowne Shopping Center in Clifton and will offer produce, dairy and meat from local vendors and New Jersey farms.

In addition to several new animatronic shows, Stew Leonard’s in Clifton will feature the same signature elements as the other locations, such as a one-way aisle and free ice cream or coffee with every $100 spent through the store’s downloadable loyalty app.

Because more than 80% of the products sold by Stew Leonard’s are fresh, Clifton’s production areas are “designed as an open concept so customers can see the store’s culinary teams hard at work,” according to the company.

The new store takes over the vacant space of the kosher supermarket chain Seasons. President and CEO Stew Leonard Jr. said the location “has the feel of a farmers market.”

“Everything is made fresh in front of our customers, from bagels coming out of the oven to meats cut to order. Plus, this is the most fun my family and I have ever put into a store, with new animatronic shows and dazzling decor, including a four-foot-tall lighthouse inspired by Old Barney.

Cheers!

It will also be the new home of Stew Leonard’s Wine & Spirits of Clifton. The store will move from its existing location at The Promenade Shops At Clifton to the interior of the supermarket at Styertowne Shopping Center. Subject to final approval from the New Jersey Alcohol Beverage Control, consumers can find more than 1,200 wines, 1,100 spirits and 350 beers in the store, the chain said.

Stew Leonard’s did the same when it made its New Jersey debut in Paramus Park five years ago, moving its nearby Wine & Spirits outpost on Route 17 to the new store.

Jake Tavello, the company’s Chief Operating Officer, told NJBIZ last year that one of the biggest reasons Stew Leonard’s decided to branch into New Jersey was “the opportunity to do food and wine business together.”

“We can’t sell wine and food together in our stores in Connecticut and New York,” he said, adding that it was exciting for us to finally be able to do that, and “something our wine store customers had been asking for. ”

To grow

Once open, Clifton will be the Connecticut-based retailer’s eighth location in the tri-state area. According to the company, the new store will employ more than 300 team members to start and add another 200 employees to provide additional support during seasonal sales later this year.

The company was founded in 1969 by Stew Leonard Sr. as one store in Norwalk and is now a $600 million company with more than 2,500 employees. Known for its animatronic characters that entertain shoppers and its selection of dairy, meat, seafood, produce, bakery items, cheese and prepared foods, the New York Times called the banner “the Disneyland of dairy stores.”

Stew Leonard’s grocery store, located at 467 Allwood Road, is open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. The wine and spirits shop is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and sells beer and wine; liquor sales begin at 9 a.m. On Sundays, beer, wine and spirits sales run from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.