ORANGE, CT ., May 13, 2005 – Nine years after purchasing a 44-acre site off of I-95’s exit 41 on Marsh Hill Road, Stew Leonard’s perseverance to build a farm fresh food store in Orange, Conn. received a thumbs-up. In a vote last night, the five-member Town Planning and Zoning (TPZ) Commission approved plans for the company to build a 145,140 square foot food store, a 40,000 square foot garden center, an 11,000 square foot restaurant and a 15,000 square foot training center on the site, by a vote of 3-to-2.

"Our goal now is to show Orange residents how much a Stew Leonard’s store will add to their community. We’re going to try hard to make everyone glad there is a Stew Leonard's fresh food store in town," said Stew Leonard, Jr. President and CEO of Stew Leonard’s

“I personally want to express my gratitude to First Selectman Mitch Goldblatt for his support, the members of OASIS and all of the other Orange residents who gave their time and energy to show their support, as well as to our terrific team who worked so diligently throughout this process.”

“We appreciate the time and effort expended by the members of the Town Planning and Zoning Commission and their staff, who after weeks of gathering information and testimony, concluded that our proposed plan was the best use of the property.”

After the store’s initial application was denied in 1997, the company turned its attention to building a store in Yonkers, New York, which opened in 1999. Stew Leonard’s re-applied in Orange, Conn. in August 2004 with the Inland-Wetlands and Watercourses Commission, and after seven public hearings, the application was approved, with conditions, on November 24, 2004. Filing with the Inland-Wetlands Commission is a necessary first step prior to filing with the Town Planning and Zoning Commission. The Orange Economic Development Commission and the town’s Traffic Authority also approved the company’s application.

“We are thrilled with the commission’s approval but at this time we can not give an exact date when we can begin construction, due to the pending appeal on the Inland Wetlands approval, which can take anywhere from nine months to one year, and additional approvals needed, including the State Traffic Commission,” said Doug Hempstead, Vice President for new stores. “Once we can begin construction, it will take approximately one year to build the food store at a cost of $25 million.”

Stew Leonard’s, a family-owned and operated grocery founded in 1969, has three stores in Norwalk and Danbury, Conn. and Yonkers, NY. with a fourth store planned for 2005 in East Farmingdale, N.Y. The company was named among FORTUNE magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work for in America” for the past four consecutive years. For more information, visit Stew Leonard’s website at www.stewleonards.com.