This Whimsical East Coast Grocery Store Is Worth A Visit

Grocery shopping can often feel like a bit of a chore between packed parking lots, crowded aisles, screaming toddlers, and endless checkout lines. If you're on the East Coast, and want a break from the ritual mundanity of your weekly shopping trip, then this grocery store is definitely worth a visit. We're talking about Stew Leonard's, a whimsical, Disney-inspired grocery store that's been around since the late 1960s. From upside-down cows to a wishing well and singing animatronics, it's definitely one of the more unique grocery stores you'll find in the U.S.

"Think of it like a destination, not a grocery store," one fan wrote on Reddit, while another called it "one of the most overstimulating places" they had ever been. In a 1983 article, The New York Times even described it as a "Disneyland Dairy Store" — a great compliment for founder Stew Leonard Sr., a huge admirer of Walt Disney. Walk into any of the retailer's eight stores and you're guaranteed an over-the-top experience, complete with costumed characters walking around, singing plastic cows, petting zoos, and other regularly scheduled entertainment.

The fact that it's more than just a regular grocery store can be judged by fans putting it on the tourist map for visiting friends and family! "It's definitely a unique grocery shopping experience," a long-time customer wrote on Reddit, adding, "I took my college roommates to Stew Leonard's and we got ice cream and walked through the petting zoo and had so much fun." Another shopper added that they take guests for both the one-of-a-kind experience and the "great lunch food". They're not wrong, either — Stew Leonard's made it on our ranking of the 15 best grocery stores for hot food. 

The uniqueness doesn't stop with the razzle and dazzle. Stew Leonard's also has a floor plan that sets it apart from most other grocery stores. Unlike the best grocery stores in the U.S., which make it easy for customers to access the aisle they want to get to, Stew Leonard's has a maze-like layout where every customer has to walk through the entire store to get to the cashier. This is an IKEA-style setup where customers often end up buying more than they intend to, since they need to walk past every single item. The layout is hit-and-miss with customers, with complaints ranging from difficulty in finding what they want to the absence of shortcuts.

What's not up for debate is the fact that Stew Leonard's has come a long way from its origins of selling only fresh milk and dairy products. What was in its DNA even then was an element of showmanship. The original Norwalk outlet was built around the retailer's bottling plant, where milk used to be processed and packaged in full view of customers. Over time, Stew Leonard's has built on the foundational idea of "fresh" foods. "Unlike traditional grocery stores that sell an average 30,000 items, each Stew Leonard's store carries only 2,200 items, chosen specifically for their freshness, quality and value," states the retailer's website.

Stew Leonard's remains a family-run enterprise. While the grocer sells many different items today, and have a turnover of over $500 million, fresh dairy products remain at its core with Stew Leonard's calling itself the "World's Largest Dairy Store" — it could, however, just as easily be the "World's Oddest Grocery Store"!