Around The Store With Stew Leonard

FUNNY COMMENT OF THE WEEK – I called one of our ranchers in Kansas City and asked him for his favorite KC Chicken Wing recipe. His response ...”We don’t eat chicken in Kansas City!”

SUPER BOWL – The trend continues! Our chefs and I are seeing more events with smaller gatherings. Even the spectators at the Super Bowl in Tampa will be limited with a third of the fans as normal. We have also downsized many of our platters to accommodate and call them “Stew Jr.’s”.

SHOPPING TIPS – Saturday and Sunday will be a very busy Super Bowl weekend. Stew’s is at 50% capacity, has double wide aisles, and tremendous air flow in our building (due to all the exhaust hoods, ovens, smokers, etc.). If you can shop more on Friday, you’ll help flatten the curve. Also, it is busiest between 11a.m. and 2 p.m. Shopping earlier or later is best.
My Super Bowl picks with items that will light up
the scoreboard:

• • CHICKEN WINGS – Sales jump from 10,000 lbs. a week to nearly 50,000 lbs. We’re offering a Tampa Bay Cannonball sauce (spicy) and a Kansas City BBQ (sweeter). Nick Mangold, who used to play for the N.J. Jets, visited Stew’s with his new Southern-style sauce. Yum. We’ll have all three at our wing bars in the store where we’ll mix your favorite sauces before your eyes (and behind Plexi!).
• • PIGS IN A BLANKET – My sister Beth wraps a small hot dog in her French croissant dough for an amazing hors d’oeuvre (can never spell this one right!). Made fresh at the store. When you get home, they’re ready after just 5 min in the oven at 350 degrees.
• • GUACOMOLE – This is a centerpiece at all Super Bowl gatherings. We make it fresh at the store and sales jump 300% for the Big Game.
• • 7 LAYER DIP – My wife Kim’s family is rooted in California and many were farmers. Every time I’d visit, they would make this 7-layer dip with chili, cheese, guacamole, sour cream, fresh salsa, lettuce and black beans. You need strong chips for this one! We’ll sell 5,000 lbs. for the Super Bowl.
• • PIZZA, PIZZA, PIZZA – Who doesn’t like pizza? Freshly made and the cauliflower crust has overtaken the traditional. A new up and comer are the flatbread pizzas – you can fit three different kinds in your oven at once since they are rectangular. Also, the stuffed loaves are popular too (basically a wrapped-up pizza). Cut these in small pieces and you have the perfect appetizer.
• • A HEALTHY OPTION: GRILLED SHRIMP - We are taking our Florida gulf shrimp, brushing them with olive oil, and grilling them. You can eat these throughout the game and not feel guilty.
• • WINE, BEER, AND MARGARITAS - Want to have some fun on gameday? Get some Jai Alai IPA (from Cigar City brewery in Tampa), some Tank 7 (from Boulevard Brewery in Kansas City), a 90 point Sauvignon Blanc or a Paso Robles Cabernet called Standing Goat. It will knock your socks off. Of course, margaritas have been the #1 selling cocktail all year.

HOT PRODUCTS OF THE WEEK – My daughter Blake just showed me the new Keurig cocktail maker. Instead of a coffee pod, it’s a mixed drink pod! My wine store in Farmingdale is selling them because prepared cocktails have been trending. Also, we added these giant pretzels with a dipping sauce. Doing 500 pretzels a week and it is trending up, up, up.

TASTE TEST OF THE WEEK – Stopped in Philadelphia and did a taste test of the best Philly Cheese Steak subs. They were better than Stew’s! Why? More Velveeta cheese and sauteed onions. Returned to the store, met with Chef Bob and Chef Mike, and WE NOW HAVE THE BEST. Not great for my diet!

MY WEEKLY PRODUCT ADDICTION – I tried our Sumo oranges from California. WOW! Like drinking a glass of fresh-squeezed OJ. Navel oranges are running about an 11 brix (measure of sweetness) and these Sumos are testing at an 18+! Only a three-month window. I’m eating 2 a day!

BURRITO, ANYONE? – My nephews Will and Andrew Hollis were having a lunch recently at a small local Mexican restaurant called Los Poblanos. They were blown away by the food and asked the owner Juan if he could deliver fresh burritos daily to Stew’s. Now, we’re doing 250 burrito’s a week! Juan’s happy but his wife says he is working too much now!

CUSTOMER COMMENT OF THE WEEK: “NICE BLUE JACKET” - A good friend, John Wood, came to visit me at the store. He was looking for me near the coffee bar. He asked a butcher for directions. When we caught up, John said, “How do you teach your team at Stew’s to be so nice?” I said, “Come with me.” We walked into the butcher shop and John pointed out Henry Gordon who has worked at Stew’s for 35 years. All the butchers huddled around as John told his blue jacket story. Now, I’m even writing about it!