NORWALK, CT — Stew Leonard’s unveiled Friday morning a new 300-pound handmade bronze statue of its founder, Stew Leonard Sr., to kick off a grand reopening celebration of the company’s flagship store in Norwalk.
The statue’s unveiling was held in the parking lot of the “World’s Largest Dairy Store” at 100 Westport Avenue in Norwalk, where the statue will now greet customers as they enter the store.
Prior to the unveiling, CEO Stew Leonard Jr. gathered with various members of the Leonard family, as well as local officials and store employees, some of whom worked directly with Leonard Sr., to honor his father.
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Leonard Sr. died in April 2023 at the age of 93, leaving behind a legacy that includes stores in Norwalk, Danbury and Newington, as well as locations in New York and New Jersey.
“Somebody’s looking down at us today,” Leonard Jr. said, “and you know who that is? That’s my father.”
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Leonard Jr. noted the family-run grocery chain’s stores take inspiration from a number of sources, chief among them the Disneyland and Walt Disney World theme parks in California and Florida respectively.
According to Leonard Jr., his family’s stores seek to emulate the Disney parks not just with the various animatronic characters that can be found throughout each store, but also in its business focus on families and children.
“The whole idea at Disney was make it fun for [the children],” Leonard Jr. said, “and we all did such a good job at Stew Leonard’s with that.”
Leonard Jr. noted his father often took him and his siblings on vacation to the Disney theme parks, where he would marvel at the iconic statues of Walt Disney that greet guests as they enter the parks.
“I remember my father always said ‘I’d love to have one of them someday; I’d love to have a bronze statue,'” Leonard Jr. said.
Work on the statue began over a year ago in Salt Lake City, according to Leonard Jr.
Before it was cast in bronze, Leonard Jr.’s mother, Marianne, carved her initials into the statue’s belt to symbolize her 70-year marriage to Leonard Sr., which produced four children, 13 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren, according to additional press materials provided by the store.
Mayor Harry Rilling and State Rep. Kadeem Roberts were also in attendance for the ceremony, during which Rilling read a proclamation honoring the company’s founder.
“Stew Leonard’s put Norwalk on the map many many years ago [by] opening up the largest dairy store in the world,” Rilling said. “People started noticing Norwalk, and you brought people to Norwalk.”
The statue unveiling kicked off a month-long celebration that will celebrate the recently finished two-year renovation project at the Norwalk store, which included a newly built 10,500-square-foot four-season indoor garden center and an interior farmer’s market among other enhancements.
Customers can also enjoy a month-long calendar of delicious demos, extra sales items and special events to celebrate the grand re-opening of Stew Leonard’s in Norwalk.
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