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The basics:

• Stew Leonard’s to open Stewie the Duck Swim School in Clifton Nov. 24
• School honors founder’s grandson, who drowned in 1989
• Facility features heated pool, family restrooms, Red Cross-certified staff
• All proceeds support swim lessons and water safety programs nationwide

Family-run grocery chain Stew Leonard’s is getting ready to launch a swim school in New Jersey in memory of the founder’s grandson, who drowned as a toddler.

Scheduled to open Nov. 24, the Stewie the Duck Swim School will be located adjacent to Stew Leonard’s store at the Styertowne Shopping Center in Clifton.

The 9,300-square-foot, state-of-the-art aquatic center will feature:

• A heated, 4-foot-deep pool with filtration and air systems
• American With Disabilities Act-compliant chair lift
• Private changing rooms
• Family restrooms

It will also have “a fun, farm-themed design” inspired by the lively grocery store, such as colorful visuals from the “Stewie the Duck Learns to Swim” book — and an animatronic Stewie the Duck.

All swim school instructors and lifeguards will be American Red Cross certified in lifeguard training and as water safety instructors. Classes will follow an American Red Cross curriculum. Offerings range from parent and child to pre-swim team.

Ahead of the grand opening, the Stewie the Duck Swim School will host open houses Nov. 22 and 23 from noon to 5 p.m. It will also give two free lessons to the first students who enroll using the promo code WELCOME! at checkout.

‘Saving lives, one lesson at a time’

The Stewie the Duck Swim School is part of a charitable organization launched 35 years ago by CEO Stew Leonard Jr. and his wife, Kim, after their 21-month-old son died in a 1989 drowning accident.

Guided by a mission of “Saving lives, one lesson at a time,” the Stew Leonard III Water Safety Foundation has spent more than three decades championing water safety. Over the years, the nonprofit has raised more than $6 million toward education, advocacy and support for swim safety initiatives.

According to the foundation, the Clifton site will contribute 100% of proceeds to provide swim lessons for underserved children along with lifeguard training nationwide. That mirrors the first Stewie the Duck Swim School, which opened two years ago in Norwalk, Conn. Locally, the organization has already supported programs at numerous YMCAs, schools and community swim centers.

Saving lives

The swim school takes over space that previously housed a Lucille Roberts Health Club. It is funded in part through a $300,000 grant from the Fiscal Year 2025 New Jersey state budget.

Ryann Leonard, executive director of the foundation and daughter of Stew Leonard’s CEO, said they’ll be able to double their impact to serve up to 2,000 children a week thanks to the new facility.

Stew Leonard Sr. founded the company 55 years ago as a single store in Norwalk. Now, Stew Leonard’s has eight locations across New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. After its 2019 New Jersey debut in Paramus, the grocer added a second local store last year in Clifton.

Known for its animatronic characters and selection of dairy, meats, seafood, produce, bakery items, cheese and prepared foods, the New York Times nicknamed the chain “the Disneyland of Dairy Stores.”