Stew Leonard's - the Disney World of Grocery Stores
Written: Jul 02 '03 (Updated Jul 02 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fresh food, free samples, catchy songs, and animatronics
Cons: Rather out of the way for visitors, parking can be difficult
The Bottom Line: If you're in the area, stop by Stew Leonard's. It's a grocery shopping experience you'll never forget--and tasty too!
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| chrissy1018's Full Review: Connecticut |
"Kids love shopping at Stew Leonard's, the World's Largest Dairy Store!" That's the refrain from one of the songs that has been stuck in my head since childhood from visits to the coolest grocery store ever! It's not just shopping for dinner, it's an experience, and if you're passing through Norwalk CT, or nearby Westport, you just must go.
Stew Leonard, founder of the company, started with a milk truck, which became a stand, then a store, and eventually, under the direction of Stew Jr., a mammoth store of fresh food and dancing celery stalks. You think I'm kidding, I'm not. Giant Cindy Celery has the mic while Larry the head of lettuce plays the keyboard, and they sing, "We're Dole fresh vegetables, we're good for you...." There's also a group of talking chickens, the Farm Fresh Five band of milk cartons, a big singing cow and dog, and various other moving, singing characters scattered throughout the store.
Basically Stewies is a farmers market, all about freshness. You'll find four foot square crate just piled with beautiful fresh fruits and vegetables: not just apples and oranges, but apricots and plums and plumquats (if you've never had a plumquat, you must, they're a combination of a plum and an apricot, very sweet and yummy). There's also a bakery where they bake fresh bagels, croissants, pies, breads, even photo cakes with your picture on them in frosting, daily. Every night they donate unsold baked goods to local food banks. There's also tons of fresh veggies, meat, fish, poultry, milk, cheese, drinks and frozen meals made at Stewies, not to mention prepared salads, and fruit, veggie and cheese platters for when you're entertaining. Prices are quite reasonable, often less than local supermarkets. There are also tons of free samples, so if you arrive hungry, you won't leave that way.
What you won't find is a wide variety of packaged foods. For instance, they'll have jam. They'll have Smuckers Strawberry and Smuckers Grape. That's it. No other flavors, no other brands. Locals go to Stewies for the fresh meat and produce, and supplement with a trip to a regular chain supermarket.
The layout is also unusual, in that it's a snaking path that winds through the entire vast store rather than the usual aisles. There are short cuts, but basically everyone is moving in one direction (frequent cart traffic jams are caused by those who try to go against the tide).
The store also features an ice cream stand, a grill with seating for lunch, a garden center and.... Stew's Little Farm, which is basically a miniature petting zoo of farm animals such as cows, chickens, ducks and goats.
Norwalk is the original location, located on the Post Road (a.k.a. Route 1) just over the border from Westport, CT. There are also Stew Leonards in Danbury, Connecticut and Rye, New York.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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Epinions.com ID:
chrissy1018
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Location: New York
Reviews written: 48
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Avid reader, professional book editor, singer, musical theater collector.
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