After making its New Jersey debut four years ago in Paramus, Stew Leonard’s has officially broken ground on its second supermarket in the state.

Scheduled to open in Clifton by next summer, the new location will be the Connecticut-based, family-run grocery chain’s eighth store overall.

As the incoming anchor of the 210,000-square-foot Styertowne Shopping Center on Allwood Road, the 56,000-square-foot store will offer local produce, dairy and meats from New Jersey and throughout the tri-state area, and expects to have a $5 million economic impact on the state, a company spokesperson said.

Once Clifton opens, it will employ about 500 workers, the chain said. When combined with the workforce in Paramus, Stew Leonard’s says it will have created more than 1,000 new jobs in the Garden State.

The new store will also feature a more eco-friendly design that includes reusing existing low voltage power service, energy-efficient refrigeration systems and HVAC units, and LED lighting that uses controls to maximize timely usage, according to a spokesperson.

During an Oct. 11 groundbreaking ceremony, Stew Leonard Jr., chief executive officer of Stew Leonard’s, was joined by Clifton Mayor Ray Grabowski, as well as dozens of local and state officials, and some of the chain’s popular in-store characters – Wow the Cow and Stewie the Duck.

The celebration included a $6,000 donation presented by Stew Leonard Jr. and his wife, Kim Leonard, to the local chapter of the Boys & Girls Club.

Since 2009, Stew Leonard III Water Safety Foundation has awarded the nonprofit a total of $45,000 across 10 grants, helping to teach more than 400 kids how to swim. In 2022, the Foundation supported 101 kids in Clifton who received 3,478 lessons over the grant year, according to Stew Leonard’s.

As part of the grocer’s plans, an existing Stew Leonard’s Wines & Spirits of Clifton will move from its current spot at 345 Allwood Road into the new supermarket. Once that happens, the independently operated and licensed store – which is run by members of the Leonard family – will join the chain. When it launched at Paramus Park, Stew Leonard’s employed a similar move, relocating its nearby Wine & Spirits store on Route 17 to the interior of the supermarket.

Founded in 1969 by the late Stew Leonard Sr. as a single store in Norwalk, the company went on to launch six more locations in the tri-state area. Now a $500 million family-owned and operated business, Stew Leonard’s welcomes more than 11 million shoppers annually and was designated the “World’s Largest Dairy Store” by the Guinness Book of World Records.

Known for its costumed characters and animatronic displays that entertain shoppers, as well as its selection of dairy, meats, seafood, produce, bakery items, cheese and prepared foods, the store was nicknamed “the Disneyland of Dairy Stores” by the New York Times.