Stew Leonard's Debuts Newest Location
Today, Stew Leonard’s opened its second New Jersey location in Clifton. Combination grocery and liquor store, the retailer moved its existing Wine & Spirits of Clifton shop from its former location at The Promenade Shops At Clifton to the center of the Stew Leonard’s Farm Fresh Food & Wine store.
The location offers customers fresh food, center store fare, more than 1,200 wines, 1,100 spirits, and 350 beers, according to the retailer.
“It’s one of the smallest stores and the second to combine beer, wine, and spirits with the grocery section,” Meghan Bell, director of public relations at Stew Leonard’s, told SFA News Daily. “It’s great because the location can serve as a one-stop shop for the local community.”
The store opens to an ice cream and coffee bar leading to an extensive bakery section with areas dedicated to New York-style bagels and donuts. The store is structured as a one-way aisle that runs through its entire footprint. Other features include a prepared foods section including pizza, BBQ, grab-and-go, sushi, and other various hot and cold mealtime solutions.
The store's Butcher Shop section emphasizes grass-fed offerings along with antibiotic- and hormone-free beef, chicken, ham, and turkey. The fish counter merchandises more than 30 varieties of fresh-caught seafood as well as locally caught sea scallops, flounder, swordfish, and tuna.
“We have our typical offerings but also adapt to the needs of the local community as best we can,” Chase Leonard, Stew Leonard’s senior photo and video producer and third-generation member of the family-owned business, told SFA News Daily. “For example, in Clifton, there’s a big kosher community. So we have some kosher items available in the store. For the most part, we keep our core selection, then introduce some flexibility.”
The grocery department, along with other sections of the store including produce, offers a mix of national brands, private-label items, and local offerings from the state.
“Our rule of thumb is we try to go local as frequently as we can. So, in all our departments across the store, we work with a ton of local, New Jersey vendors,” said Chase Leonard. “We want to be a part of the community and support where we are located.”
Stew Leonard's taps hundreds of local farms in the tri-state area for dairy and produce. “Some of our best products come from New Jersey, from blueberries to asparagus,” said Stew Leonard, Jr.
The Stew Leonard’s team endeavors to offer high-quality and specialty products while keeping prices reasonable. Chase Leonard said that she’s seen customers become more deliberate with how they spend their money because of economic uncertainty; however, customers value quality.
“The customer cares about where the food is coming from and we care about that equally,” she said. “You can come to our grocery store, trust the product, and know that it’s fresh…but we’re very price aware and make sure we cater towards what the customer wants.”
Animatronic features around the store introduce an element of fun and interactivity while teaching kids and adults about Stew Leonard’s history, and some of its principles, said Chase Leonard. One example is Stew’s Naked Cowboy which honors the company’s private-label line of antibiotic- and hormone-free meats, called Stew’s Naked.