Stew Leonard’s appoints Tavello as chief operating officer

After helping launch Stew Leonard’s first New Jersey store in Paramus four years ago, Jake Tavello is taking on a new role with the family-owned and -operated grocery chain.

The Norwalk, Conn.-based company recently announced the appointment of Tavello as its new chief operating officer, overseeing product quality and freshness, customer service excellence, and team member development across Stew Leonard’s seven stores in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey.

Tavello – the grandson of founder Stew Leonard and nephew of current President and Chief Executive Officer Stew Leonard Jr. – has been vice president of stores since 2020, managing company-wide technology initiatives and sales opportunities. Prior to that, he was the first vice president of Stew Leonard’s newest store, which opened in September 2019 at Paramus Park Mall. 

Tavello first joined the company in 2003, while in high school, and worked in every department across all Stew Leonard’s stores—learning everything from how to toss pizza dough and roast coffee to how to cut a 200-pound swordfish.

Before returning to Stew Leonard’s in 2015, Tavello worked for three years in the management training program at Rochester, N.Y.-headquartered Wegmans Food Markets. Once back at his family’s business, Tavello was a store director at the Danbury, Conn., location.

In announcing the promotion, Leonard said Tavello is a hard worker who has “not only earned my respect, but the respect of his peers at Stew’s.”

“He … not only has the best interests of Stew Leonard’s at heart, but he also really wants to grow and develop our team members,” the CEO added.

The next generation

One of his first projects when he rejoined Stew Leonard’s eight years ago was spearheading a new partnership with grocery delivery service Instacart, which Tavello said the company considers its “eighth store.”

“It’s turned our online business into a storefront,” he explained. “Over 100 years ago, my grandfather delivered fresh milk from Norwalk’s Clover Farms dairy to our local customers and, with delivery through Instacart, we’re right back to where we started!”

As vice president of stores, Tavello helped introduce several other tech-related initiatives, such as revamping StewLeonards.com and StewLeonardsCatering.com to improve the online ordering experience.

“I’ve also been working on a new internal digital business insights platform that integrates multiple data sources – it helps us really keep an eye on sales growth and opportunities. Stew Leonard’s also launched its first app for iPhone and Android in 2019, just in time for the grand opening of our food and wine store in Paramus, where I was the new store’s VP,” he said. “Up until that point, for 40 years, customers who spent more than $100 could show their receipt and get a free ice cream cone. Now, with our app, it’s all digital and customers can accrue their points to earn a free ice cream,” he said.

As chief operating officer, Tavello said, “I’m excited to be part of the team leading our family business into the next generation and I hope to continue my family’s commitment to creating happy team members and happy customers at Stew Leonard’s.”

He went on to say his goal is to “keep Stew’s innovative.”

“I love finding and developing new items that make shopping a ‘treasure hunt’ experience here at Stew Leonard’s and continue to keep in-store shopping fun. I have a new perspective on shopping at Stew’s now that I have a 2-year-old son!” said Tavello.

‘The Disneyland of Dairy Stores’

Founded in 1969 as a single store in Norwalk, Stew Leonard’s now has locations in East Meadow, Farmingdale and Yonkers, N.Y.; Danbury and Newington, Conn.; and Paramus, N.J.

Dubbed as “the Disneyland of Dairy Stores” by The New York Times, Stew Leonard’s offers up farm fresh food and interactive animatronic characters that perform shows to entertain shoppers. Each store features Stew Leonard’s infamous one-way aisle, which winds its way through designated sections for everything from freshly made baked goods to barbecue fare to seafood to produce to pizza.

One of the biggest reasons Stew Leonard’s decided to branch out into New Jersey was “the opportunity to merchandise food and wine together,” Tavello said.

“We can’t sell wine and food together in our stores in Connecticut and New York,” he said, adding that being able to finally do so “was exciting for us” and “something that our wine store customers had been asking for.”

While additional Stew Leonard’s locations have not been announced in the Garden State, Tavello said, “My family and I are always on the lookout for our next great location. New Jersey would make a lot of sense for us when the time is right.”

Despite the competitive grocery landscape in Bergen County – which includes Aldi, Lidl, Wegman’s, ShopRite, Stop & Shop, The Fresh Grocer, The Fresh Market, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods Market and Acme – Tavello believes Stew Leonard’s is setting itself apart from the pack.

“We sell only 1,000 grocery items whereas other stores have more than 50,000 grocery SKUs,” he explained. “Eighty percent of Stew Leonard’s is fresh food and much of that is made in-store right in front of our customers, including our fresh mozzarella and apple cider donuts. Customers can also watch our butchers and fish cutters in action while they shop. Plus, Stew Leonard’s is just a fun shopping experience for families.”