Stew Leonard, founding father of well-known grocery chain, dies at 93 after ‘temporary sickness’

Stew Leonard, the founding father of the well-known Connecticut grocery retailer chain that glided by his identify, died Wednesday on the age of 93.

The businessman succumbed to a “temporary sickness” throughout his keep at Lenox Hill Hospital.

“Yesterday, my dad handed away at 93-1/2 years outdated whereas holding my mom’s hand. That they had been married for 70 years. I knew this present day would come however I’m nonetheless making an attempt to wrap my head round it. Only a month in the past, he was swimming in a pool,” his son and successor, Stewie Leonard, Jr, said.

Leonard opened his first dairy retailer in his native Norfolk, Connecticut, in 1969 after serving as a milkman for his household’s dairy enterprise for a number of years.

The 17,000 sq. foot retailer — which initially solely carried simply eight gadgets — earned the “World’s Largest Dairy Retailer” title at Ripley’s Consider It or Not, in addition to the place within the Guinness E-book of World Data for having the best greenback gross sales per sq. foot of promoting house.

Leonard opened his second Connecticut location in 1991 and continued to broaden till the chain popped up throughout New York and New Jersey. There are seven places throughout the three states.

He earned numerous accolades all through his life, together with the 1986 Presidential Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence bestowed upon him by then-President Ronald Reagan.

The regional grocery store, valued at roughly $600 million, has loved nice success and was named as one among FORTUNE journal’s “100 Finest Firms to Work For”  ten years in a row — by means of just lately suffered a 50% blow to Bud Light sales amid its controversial partnership with Dylan Mulvaney.

Outdoors of working his $600 million enterprise, Leonard was an avid outdoorsman and water skier. He gained the 1956 North American Water Ski championship and set a world and nationwide document in level totals for trick water snowboarding in 1959.

Leonard stepped down as CEO in 2014 and handed the reigns over to his oldest son, Stewie.

He leaves behind his spouse, Marianne; kids Stewie, Tom, Beth, and Jill; 13 grandchildren; and over 2,200 workers.

“He at all times had an inspirational perception providing hope and a brighter future. Boy, am I going to overlook that!” Stewie wrote.