New Stew Leonard's Opens On Wednesday

Stew Leonard's, the supermarket chain known for its unique food offerings, as well as its meat and dairy, will open its second Long Island location on Wednesday.

The grand opening of the 70,000-square-foot grocery store, located at 1897 Front St. in East Meadow, will be on Wednesday, Aug. 23. The store will employ 350 people. It is located behind the Home Depot shopping center on Hemsptead Turnpike.

Long Island’s first Stew Leonard’s location opened in Farmingdale in January 2016. This will be the chain’s sixth store in the tri-state area. The East Meadow store will offer local products, including vegetables harvested on Long Island, seafood caught off the coast of Montauk and milk from family-owned farms in upstate New York.

To celebrate the grand opening, the store will be hosting special guests and events from now through the fall, culminating with Stew Leonard's Halloween pumpkin patch and carving stations.

First, on Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the store will host Connor Vincent, the 2017 Mar-Del Watermelon Queen. She will show customers how to pick the perfect watermelon, and there will be free samples available.

On Sept. 8 and 9 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sarah "The Cheese Lady" Kaufmann will be at the store for a special cheese carving event. An artist who uses cheese as her medium, Kaufmann will carve a huge wheel of Wisconsin cheddar in the deli department. After she's done, the cheese will be served to shoppers and cut and sold.

And on Oct. 5, Food Network star Alex Guarnaschelli will be signing copies of his new cookbook, "The Home Cook: Recipes to Know by Heart."

For more information on the opening of the new East Meadow store, visit www.stewleondards.com.

Photo: Patch