|
FARM FRESH FOODS COME
TO FARMINGDALE
World Renowned Grocer Stew Leonard's Announces Site for Fourth Store |
| FARMINGDALE, NY, November 25, 2002 - Dancing cows, singing milk cartons and high quality, fresh food at great prices - all under one roof - are coming to the Town of Babylon, with the announcement that Stew Leonard's has selected Farmingdale as its first Long Island location and fourth store site |
| The family owned and operated store, founded in 1969, has three other locations: Norwalk and Danbury, Conn. and Yonkers, NY. The company has received worldwide acclaim for excellence in customer service, and was recently ranked No. 22 on FORTUNE magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For In America." |
| "I loved Farmingdale from the moment I drove down Rte. 110," said Stew Leonard, Jr., President and CEO of Stew Leonard's. "Steve Bellone, Town of Babylon Supervisor, and Peter Casserly, Babylon Town Planning Commissioner, are very enthusiastic about the future of Babylon. Together with Wayne Horsley, Town of Babylon Council Member, they visited our Norwalk store and felt that Stew's would be a perfect fit for their community." |
| "Recently, I opened a wine store in Farmingdale, and I am thrilled with both the customers I've met and the community support we have received," said Stew Leonard, Jr. "I'm sure our family's food store will do just as well. We are also excited about having SUNY as a neighbor. We'll be hiring over 500 people and they will be a tremendous resource." |
| "We are pleased that Babylon attracts high quality businesses like Stew Leonard's. Their commitment to customers, their employees and the community will be a positive addition to the town," said Steve Bellone, Town of Babylon Supervisor. |
| The store will be located at the intersection of Broad Hollow Road and Conklin Street in Farmingdale. The 19-acre property will be purchased from a division of The Fairchild Corporation. The store is expected to open in the summer of 2004. |
| Once opened, Stew Leonard's will provide 500 jobs in the Babylon area, 70 percent of which will be full-time. Additionally, 40 percent of those jobs are in non-retail areas, including food manufacturing, processing, personnel, warehousing and transportation, and positions such as electricians, carpenters, mechanics, graphic artists and executive chefs. |
| Stew Leonard's expects to spend $20 million annually in goods and services purchased from New York farmers, businesses and vendors, as a result of the new store in Babylon. Another $100,000 a year in cash and in-kind contributions will go toward charitable organizations in the town. The store will have a payroll of approximately $15 million per year, with much of that money spent in the town. It is estimated that the company will contribute approximately $400,000 a year in local property and school taxes, and $2 million a year in New York State sales tax. |
| Unlike traditional grocery stores that sell an average 30,000 items, each Stew Leonard's store carries only 2,000 items, chosen specifically for their freshness, quality and value. "I like to think of Stew Leonard's as a 'super farmer's market' - a cross between a traditional supermarket and a farmer's market," said Stew, Jr. He cites the in-store dairy plant and bakery, fresh mozzarella making station and the cut-to-order meat department as examples of Stew Leonard's 'show-and-sell' innovative merchandising. |
| Stew Leonard's was dubbed the "Disneyland of Dairy Stores" by the New York Times, because of its own milk processing plant, costumed characters, scheduled entertainment, petting zoo and animatronics throughout the stores. |
