Stew Leonard, founder of the famous Connecticut grocery chain that bears his name, died Wednesday at the age of 93.
The businessman succumbed to a “temporary illness” while at Lenox Hill Hospital.
“Yesterday my dad passed away at the age of 93 and a half holding my mother’s hand. They were married for 70 years. I knew today would come, but I’m still attempting to embrace it. Until a month ago, he was swimming in the pool” – his son and successor, said Stewie Leonard Jr.
Leonard opened his first dairy store in his hometown of Norfolk, Connecticut in 1969, after several years as a milkman for the family dairy business.
The 17,000-square-foot store – which originally contained only eight items – earned the title of “World’s Largest Dairy Store” in Ripley’s Consider It or Not, in addition to a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest sales per square foot of retail space.
Leonard opened its second location in Connecticut in 1991 and continued to expand until the chain arrived in Recent York and Recent Jersey. There are seven locations in three states.
![Stew Leonard Sr.,](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/MrLeonard_resize-807x1024-1.jpg?w=807)
Throughout his life, he received various accolades, including the Presidential Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurship in 1986, awarded to him by then-President Ronald Reagan.
The regional supermarket, valued at roughly $600 million, has been an enormous success and was named one of FORTUNE magazine’s “100 Best Firms to Work For” for ten years in a row – most recently suffering a 50% drop in Bud Light sales amid a controversial collaboration with Dylan Mulvaney.
Along with running a $600 million company, Leonard was an avid lover of nature and water skiing. In 1956, he won the North American Water Ski Championships, and in 1959 he set the world and national record for total points in water ski tricks.
![Stewie Leonard Sr. and Stewie.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/stew_stew_800x400-800x400-1.jpg?w=800)
![Shoppers push shopping carts outside Stew Leonard's.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1212813688.jpg?w=1024)
Leonard stepped down as CEO in 2014 and handed over power to his eldest son, Stewie.
He leaves his wife Marianna; children Stewie, Tom, Beth and Jill; 13 grandchildren; and over 2,200 employees.
“He at all times had inspiring insights that gave hope and a greater future. Boy, am I going to miss this!” Stevie wrote.