NORWALK, Conn., April 16, 2005 – Stew Leonard’s was notified late Friday of a fraudulent mailing delivered to residents of Orange, Connecticut, sent out on fictitious letterhead.

“Stew Leonard’s wants to reassure the community of Orange that we would never send out such a letter to residents, especially under the presumption that the store is approved when in fact, the Town Planning and Zoning Commission is still considering our application,” said Doug Hempstead, Stew Leonard’s Vice President of New Stores.

The letter was not written nor did not come from anyone affiliated with Stew Leonard’s, and was not sanctioned by the company. The letter supposedly comes from “Frank Urbanti” a “Director of Community Relations.” There is no person employed at Stew Leonard’s by this name and no such position.

The contents of the letter relayed that Stew Leonard’s is “thrilled about shortly starting construction of our state-of-the-art retail and training center in Orange” and that the company is “pleased to be joining the Orange community.” The letter further stated that “as construction moves along, we’ll be contacting our neighbors with additional information about our progress, exclusive coupon savings for Orange residents and community events such as our Grand Opening Fireworks Extravaganza!”

“We have no idea who this letter was sent out by and wanted to notify the residents of Orange and the Town Planning and Zoning Commission that this letter is fraudulent,” said Doug Hempstead, Stew Leonard’s Vice President of New Stores. “Our lawyers are working with authorities to determine the origin of the letter, since this is a violation of federal law.”