Stew Leonard’s began in 1921, originally as Clover Farms Dairy in Norwalk, Connecticut, by Charles Leonard, who worked out of his “garage”, delivering milk to customers in a horse-drawn carriage. The company bills itself as the World’s Largest Dairy.
Today, Stew Leonard’s operates a small chain of grocery stores in Connecticut and New York. In the late 1950s, Stew Leonard realized that the milk delivery business was in serious decline. In 1969, Leonard opened his first retail location. By the early 1990s, the company was doing more than $100 million in annual sales each year. Stew Leonard was convicted of tax fraud in 1993 and served 44 months in prison.
The company currently has 6 locations, with 3 in Connecticut and 3 in New York. The 7th location in New Jersey is due to open in mid-2018.
In June 2022, an employee accused both Stew Leonard and Stew Leonard Jr of making racist and anti-Semitic remarks.
Company headquarters remain in Norwalk, Connecticut.
Stew Leonard’s began in 1921, originally as Clover Farms Dairy in Norwalk, Connecticut, by Charles Leonard, who worked out of his “garage”, delivering milk to customers in a horse-drawn carriage. The company bills itself as the World’s Largest Dairy.
History
Today, Stew Leonard’s operates a small chain of grocery stores in Connecticut and New York. In the late 1950s, Stew Leonard realized that the milk delivery business was in serious decline. In 1969, Leonard opened his first retail location. By the early 1990s, the company was doing more than $100 million in annual sales each year. Stew Leonard was convicted of tax fraud in 1993 and served 44 months in prison.
The company currently has 6 locations, with 3 in Connecticut and 3 in New York. The 7th location in New Jersey is due to open in mid-2018.
In June 2022, an employee accused both Stew Leonard and Stew Leonard Jr of making racist and anti-Semitic remarks.
Company headquarters remain in Norwalk, Connecticut.
Stew Leonard,
My son worked at your Paramus location during the peek of the Pandemic, at one point was one of the only few that would show up for work, putting in many hours, as the Pandemic eased, his hours were cut back and he had a falling out with his manager (who no longer works there)
Recently he tried to go back to work there and your HR manager was not willing to give him a second chance.
I feel this was very unfair and your company should consider giving him a second chance.
Thank you,
Professor R. Martin
2569 7th Avenue. #10K
New York, New York 10039
Cell/Text. 347-931 2048
December 1, 2019
To Whom It May Concern,
This letter is written to you to bring your attention to concerning customer service I experienced yesterday, November 30, 2019, during the checkout process with my groceries
at your Yonkers store location. The concern relates to store employee/cashier Genoveve and her packer/assistant.
Note: From my store receipt, below I am providing the specific identifying information which corresponds to my transaction at your Yonkers location.
Cashier: Genoveve
Time: 2:54pm
Terminal: #9
Reference: #30900131 C
Purchase Amt: $167.73 /Visa Debt
Specifics:
After providing Geneove with 4 of the Stew Leonards reusable bags to include with my purchase, I indicated that I would like the bags to be used immediately to pack my groceries.
After Geneove related this to the packer, I then added that I would like the meats placed within the plastic bags that Stew Leonards provides….before they are placed within the reusable bags that I was purchasing. The packer responded “yes mam”……in a loud sarcastic tone.
Since it appeared that he resented this request…..I added that this would prevent any leaks from being in contact with the reusable bags. He again responded sarcastically.
After his last response….I stated to him that there was no need for him to raise his voice or be upset at my request. He stated that he had not done so…..and I restated that he had.
At this point…..after it became clear that he was going to argue with me ….I stopped the conversation by saying “OK”, in an effort to end what was going in a very wrong direction.
As Genovese moved the next few items towards him for packing…..she locked eyes with him, then stretched her eyes wide. As a customer, I found this body language extremely rude and uncalled for. Additionally as an Senior African American woman, I found it disrespectful with racist and sexist overtones.
With the above in mind…..along with your store motto……
“At Stew Leonard’s, we follow a principle so important that we etched it into a
three-ton granite rock!
Rule 1: The customer is always right!
Rule 2: If the customer is ever wrong, reread Rule 1!”
I sincerely hope that you will address this matter with Genoveve and her packer. I have always “tooted” the Stew Leonard’s home to my friends and family….because of the excellent quality of foods it provides…..along with the very unique shopping atmosphere.
Please know that I have visited other locations which have opened in recent years….but remain loyal to this Yonkers location because of it’s special ambiance.
Since it is unfortunate that these two store employees misrepresented the customer service that you are known to provide…..I hope that they will be retrained or reassigned different responsibilities so that in the future they will not shed a negative light on the positive reputation that Stew Leonard’s has continuously grown.
I trust that you will give your attention to this matter.
Sincerely Yours,
PS. A hard copy of this letter and the store receipt will be mailed to your
corporate headquarters
Just wanted to let you know about the way they count part time work.
Hi good morning thank you for getting back to me. So glad you were not going to hire me for a job. After my interview I was going to turn it down if i got it. I have heard alot of good things about your business and the products only. You guys should rethink how you handle part time jobs. I have all ways worked a full time job and had some kind a of business. So i do not mind working alot when i was much younger. Now that i am disabled i can not handle the long hours but still want to work because i enjoy it. But when I was told you count 28 hours a week as part time that is really screwed up. Most times a full time job is only around 35 hours a week. So why do you even have part time jobs. I have all ways counted 20 hours a week part time. You guys should rethink things more and more people are disabled and want to work or need to work for some extra cash. It would look better for you guys on the long run. Taking care of people more than running a business to make money. You should be more flexible when you have some one apply that has health problem. People that do will try much harder to do a great job. I go out of my way to support a business that does hire people that are disabled. Have even before I became disabled makes a great business even better. You should even post it better so people know what you guys count as part time hours. If i knew what the hours were i would of not applied or went for a interview.
Thanks again for your time and help.I hope you guys will rethink how to handle a disabled person. Each case should be done different on the problem the person has. On the long run it will make your store much stronger. Thanks again good luck with the new store.
Paul R Sharpe
—–Original Message—–
From: Gina Kisley
To: Paul Sharpe
Sent: Mon, Jul 8, 2019 11:30 pm
Subject: Regarding your interview at Stew Leonard’s
Paul Sharpe,
Thank you for your interest in the employment opportunity at Stew Leonard’s. After considering a number of candidates with a variety of skills and experiences, we have decided to pursue other candidates who we believe match our needs more closely.
We encourage you to check our job board often. With jobs posted regularly, there may be others that interest you.
Please accept our best wishes for your success in finding a suitable position.
Sincerely,
logo
Gina Kisley
HR Assistant, Stew Leonard’s Paramus
A 585 From Road Paramus NJ 07652
P 201.649.0888 E 17115
Today was our first time shopping in your store in Newington CT.. Since we were hosting Mother’s Day and heard your add on the radio for Beef tenderloin and lobster tails we decided to go to your store. We were having a wonderful time exploring and selecting items in your store. I couldn’t believed how fresh everything looked. We were so happy with everything we purchased so far. Last thing we needed to get was the beef tenderloin. At 7.99/lb. we thought this was great. You even had a employee helping people pick out a good loin. We were so impressed. We need one that would serve 12 people. We decided to purchase another one just to be sure we had enough. We also picked up 12 lobster tails. All in all we must have had about $500. of groceries. When we get to the register and the girl rings up the tenderloin at full price we called her attention to it. We tried to explain that these were the ones that were on sale. She called the head cashier over and he I turned called the manager over. We have never bought beef tenderloin so we relied on the store employee that was helping out. We told her we wanted the 7.99 tenderloin and she proceeded to help us pick one out. The butcher trimmed it and cut it up for us. We purchased 2 loins. We didn’t understand the problem. The store manager didn’t know want to hear anything we were saying and never tried to satisfy us. All he kept saying is “I understand “. He said the price was clearly
Marked. We disagree. In big red bold print the sign read $7.99 /lb. then in tiny lettering it said untrimmed. There were no signs posted that trimmed were $12.99. The employee that helped us said what we chose was $7.99. With all this explaining your manager was not willing to help. What happened to your policy that the customer is always right? Because of this managers handling of this situation we left our entire order (approximately $500.00) and walked away very upset. We were in your store for more than 1 hour plus and hour in travel time. This almost spoiled my Mother’s Day but fortunately we went to B.J’S and found everything we needed. Because of how this store manager handled this, you lost a good sale. You will also get a very bad review form us and lost a customer. I’ve heard so many wonderful things about your store but sad to say that was not our experience. FYI. This happened at your Newington CT store on May 12, 2018 at approx 1:15 pm
We have a vacant store at 10 South Avenue, Garwood, NJ 07027. The building is 52,000 square feet. Residents in our area our hoping we could get a Stew Leonards, as it would do fantastic in this neighborhood. I know you are coming to Paramus, NJ but that is quite far from us. Please consider this location as it was a former huge Pathmark store that closed its doors. It also has a large parking area. Have been to your store in Connecticut and love it.
Many thanks,
Angela Heinzer