private industry grocery store founded 1969 1969 norwalk connecticut headquarters norwalk connecticut key people stew leonard jr. president & ceo products food revenue 341 million 2011 1 number of employees 2 226 1 website www.stewleonards.com stew leonard s is a chain of five supermarkets in connecticut and new york which ripley s believe it or not deemed the world s largest dairy with fortune magazine listing stew leonard s as one of the 100 best companies to work for . 2 founded in 1969 with seven employees citation needed in norwalk connecticut there are currently three stores in connecticut and two in new york . 3 4 stores edit the new york times called stew leonard s the disneyland of dairy stores . 5 the stores are not set up like traditional grocery stores ; one must walk through the entire store though there are short cuts . as customers walk through a path of aisles they are greeted by different employees dressed up in costumes and by animatronic characters called the farm fresh five that perform songs and dance . citation needed the stores also feature petting zoos and outdoor cafes in the warmer months and sell a variety of prepared meals year round . anyone who comes from connecticut or thereabouts knows this landmark chain of grocery stores where mechanized cows sing and roosters crow according to a writer for the sun sentinel of florida . 6 the store is also known for its customer service policy which greets shoppers at each store s entrance etched into a three ton rock 7 the customer is always right . if the customer is ever wrong re read rule 1 . tax fraud edit in 1993 stew leonard sr. was convicted of committing tax fraud through an elaborate scheme including short weighting to divert more than 17.1 million in cash register receipts over a ten year period . 8 9 10 the fraud involved a computer program designed to skim off sales . the fraud was directed by stew leonard sr. in concert with the company s cfo and store manager . skimmed cash was placed in bundles in leonard sr. s office fireplace to be later moved offshore or disguised as gifts . 11 12 leonard sr. was caught in june 1991 carrying 80 000 cash en route to the island of saint martin . 11 13 stew leonard sr. plead guilty to the charges and in 1993 was sentenced to 52 months in prison . 14 15 he ultimately served 44 months before being released in june 1997 . 16 references edit a b stew leonard s store fact sheet pdf . stewleonards.com . january 16 2012 . retrieved august 21 2012 . 100 best companies to work for 2011 . fortune magazine . fortune magazine . retrieved 26 january 2016 . stern neil . the magic of stew leonard s dairy comes to long island . forbes . retrieved 24 january 2016 . zeveloff julie . 13 reasons stew leonard s is actually the best grocery store in america . business insider . retrieved 24 january 2016 . miller bryan june 22 1983 . in norwalk a disneyland dairy store . the new york times . retrieved january 24 2016 . hartz seeley deborah december 17 2007 . a trip north takes me to stew leonard s that reminds me of penn dutch . retrieved december 20 2007 . the history of stew leonard s . stewleonards.com . retrieved august 21 2012 . steinberg jaques . connecticut store owner sentenced in tax fraud . the new york times . retrieved 25 january 2016 . fritz sara . a sour end to dairy scam retailing genius stew leonard may face jail for hiding 17.1 million from the irs in a tax fraud case . the los angele times . the los angele times . retrieved 25 january 2016 . back from the brink everybody knew grocer stew leonard as america s king of customer service crowned by none other than tom peters . but leonard went to jail for tax fraud . now ... a b steinberg jacques . papers show greed calculation and betrayal in stew leonard fraud case . the new york times . the new york times . retrieved 25 january 2016 . thompson ainsworth richard . zappers technology assisted tax fraud ssuta and the encryption solutions . the american barr association . retrieved 25 january 2016 . lavoie denise . prominent entrepreneur pleads guilty to massive tax fraud . associated press news archive . associated press . retrieved 25 january 2016 . steinberg jaques . connecticut store owner sentenced in tax fraud . the new york times . the new york times . retrieved 25 january 2016 . whitford david . back from the brink . cnn money . retrieved 25 january 2016 . gattuso greg . stew leonard sr. leaves prison . supermarket news . retrieved 25 january 2016 . v t e supermarket chains in the united states kroger baker s supermarkets city market dillons food stores food 4 less foods co. fred meyer fry s food & drug gerbes super markets harris teeter jay c king soopers kroger owen s pay less super markets qfc ralphs roundy s pick n save mariano s metro market copp s ruler foods scott s smith s albertsons acme markets albertsons amigos carrs haggen jewel osco lucky market street pavilions randalls safeway shaw s and star market super saver tom thumb united supermarkets vons supervalu county market cub farm fresh hornbacher s save a lot shop n save shoppers ahold delhaize food lion giant carlisle giant landover hannaford brothers company martin s food markets stop & shop southeastern grocers bi lo fresco y m s harveys supermarkets winn dixie wakefern pricerite shoprite the fresh grocer other national chains aldi iga lidl target walmart regional chains asian 99 ranch market great wall supermarket h mart hong kong supermarket island pacific supermarket marina food marukai corporation u.s.a. mitsuwa marketplace nijiya market seafood city shun fat supermarket uwajimaya hispanic bravo el ahorro supermarket fiesta foods fiesta mart la perla tapat a supermarkets m s club mi pueblo food center supermercados teloloapan vallarta supermarkets organic earth fare natural grocers trader joe s whole foods market wholesale bj s wholesale club costco sam s club conventional acme fresh market amigo andronico s balducci s bashas best yet market big y boyer s food markets inc. bristol farms brookshire brothers brookshire grocery company buehler food markets inc. c town supermarkets cash & carry central market d & w fresh market dave s markets dean & deluca demoulas market basket dierbergs markets dorothy lane market easy way store econofoods family fare fairway market fareway festival foods festival foods minnesota food giant food city foodarama foodland foodland hawaii foodtown pathmark gelson s gerland corporation giant eagle grand mart gristedes grocery outlet harmons harps food stores h e b heinen s fine foods highland park market homeland houchens hugo s hy vee ingles inserra supermarkets jerry s foods jungle jim s international market karns quality foods key food super fresh the food emporium king kullen kings super markets kuhn s quality foods lewis food town lion supermarket lowe s market lowes foods lund food holdings magruder s marc s market basket market of choice marsh supermarkets martin s super markets meijer met foods minyard food stores miracle mart mollie stone s markets morton williams new deal supermarket new seasons market niemann foods no frills supermarkets nugget markets pcc natural markets petrini s piggly wiggly piggly wiggly carolina co. pink dot price chopper price mart price chopper supermarkets publix pueblo raley s supermarkets red owl redner s markets remke markets rice epicurean markets ridley s family markets roche bros. rosauers supermarkets rouses russ s market save mart supermarkets saverite schnucks scolari s food and drug seafood city sedano s sellers bros. sendik s food market sentry foods seven mile market shop n save smart & final spartannash sprouts farmers market stanley stores star market stater bros. stew leonard s strack & van til straub s markets sullivan family of companies super dollar discount foods super one foods super saver foods b & r stores the fresh market times supermarkets tops friendly markets united grocery outlet urm stores valu king victory supermarkets village market food center weaver street market wegmans weis markets westborn market western beef winco foods woodman s markets yoke s fresh market zabar s zupan s markets defunct banners a mart a & p food basics pathmark waldbaum s abco foods alpha beta american stores appletree markets belle foods big bear stores big star markets bloom bottom dollar food bruno s buttrey food & drug byrd s carter s foods chatham clemens markets colonial stores dahl s foods daniel reeves stores david s supermarkets davis food city delchamps deskins dick s supermarket dominick s eagle food centers eberhard s eisner food stores farmer jack felpausch finast fisher foods food fair food world food a rama fresh & easy furr s genuardi s giant open air glen s markets grand union hamady brothers henry s farmers market hills supermarkets hinky dinky jitney jungle johnnie s foodmaster kessel food markets laneco marketside mars national supermarkets national tea omni superstore penn fruit penn traffic pick n pay supermarkets plus purity supreme quality markets qfi red food reid s schaffer stores company seaway food town seessel s simon david skaggs companies southern family markets sunflower farmers market sunflower market super duper sweetbay supermarket tidyman s twin valu ukrop s super markets warehouse economy outlet weingarten s wild oats markets xpect discounts list of supermarket chains in the united states retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title stew leonard % 27s & oldid 742311554 categories companies based in norwalk connecticutretail companies established in 1969supermarkets of the united statesanimatronic attractions1969 establishments in connecticuthidden categories all articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from january 2016 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured 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