Paramus Park’s Stew Leonard’s, One Week After Opening

What has been dubbed the Disneyland of dairy stores opened its first New Jersey location in Paramus last Wednesday. Those familiar with Stew Leonard’s Wines & Spirits of Rt. 17 now have to drive about a mile farther to experience the one-stop shopping of Stew Leonard’s Farm Fresh Food and Wine.

Once home to Sears, Stew Leonard’s now sits as the anchor store opposite Macy’s at Paramus Park Mall. The 80,000 square foot grocery store garners so many shoppers at noon on a weekday the parking lot looks like the mall on a Saturday.

Walking through the entrance of the store may feel like you’re entering a real farm store, but after a few steps it starts to feel more like a big-box store. Making the store feel more crowded than it may actually be are the signature one-way aisles. Though it’s an overwhelming experience at first, savvy shoppers can benefit from downloading the store map from Stew Leonard’s website.

Wine & Spirits

The center of the store features the wine & spirits section transferred here from the previous location. Offerings include 1,600 wines, 800 spirits, and 500 beers.

Made Fresh Daily

The store boasts a sign proudly stating 80% of its products are made fresh daily. Products are either brought in daily or prepared right there in-store. If that level of fresh sounds too good to be true, just visit one of the open-concept production areas around the store to see the culinary teams preparing all things from rice cakes and mozzarella cheese to kettle cooked potato chips and popcorn. They even sell their store-made apple cider donuts year-round.

If all that isn’t enough, they have ten hot and cold buffet stations, an Asian wok, pizza, burgers, sushi, and barbecue. There’s also freshly made donuts and coffee and an ice cream station that offers a free scoop to anyone with a receipt totaling over $100.

It’s Also a Traditional Grocery Store

The remaining 20% of products not made fresh daily are private label brands you’d expect to find in any grocery store. From frozen foods to boxed cereal, you can get most of your grocery shopping done in one stop if you aren’t too specific with your brand choice. They aim to offer great products at a great value by not overstocking their shelves with goods that won’t sell.

As you move through the store, you can find all the hallmarks of your weekly food shop, and then some. The large bakery section, which even offers a kosher section, moves into produce, followed by a dedicated dairy section, a butcher shoppe, seafood counter, dairy section, and deli. And you can’t forget about the flower department near the end of the store.

Animatronics & Augmented Reality

As you make your way from station to station, beware of the animatronic attractions scattered around the store. Equipped with push-buttons for curious shoppers and children to start at their whim, various roosters, chickens, and parrots will start talking and singing. One of the newest animatronics featured in the produce section, the Avocado Girls, sing an original jingle to the best of “La Cucaracha.”

The Paramus store is also home to the inaugural Augmented Reality program. Shoppers with the Stew’s Magic Door App can play educational games by pointing their device at barn door signs throughout the fish, dairy, deli, produce, and water safety departments.

The crowds seem to end at the register with the over 20 checkout lanes, half of which are express, being a high point of the store. Though they may be hard to spot in their Stew Leonard’s polo shirts, there are many employees directing the traffic at checkout and wandering the store to provide assistance. The store has brought 350 jobs to Paramus.

If you’re in a rush or the type to find your products and get out while food shopping, it may suit you to stay away from the new attraction-like store. But if you don’t mind waiting behind others to finish their shopping before getting to a shelf or want to experience the interactive elements, you can shop Monday-Saturday 8am-10pm and Sunday 8am-9pm at Paramus Park Mall.