Stew Leonard Jr., CEO of Stew Leonard’s, has offered to donate 10,000 burgers for the peace summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, after the North Korean government announced their desire to open a “burger joint” in Pyongyang.
Stew Leonard’s, which sells more than 30 million pounds of beef a year in the Tri-State area of Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, has offered to donate burgers that have “USA” stamped in the middle of them.
The donation would be the new filet burger made by hand in Stew Leonard’s using its Butcher Shoppe’s cuts, including its filet mignon, short rib and ground chuck.
Leonard said filet mignon is America’s favorite and would be a great way to kick off the country’s new relationship with North Korea.
Founded in 1923, Stew Leonard’s has drawn notable celebrities to its stores, including Paul Newman, who launched his eponymous salad dressing at the company’s Norwalk location in 1982, as well as Jerry Seinfeld, Martha Stewart and the late First Lady Barbara Bush, who visited the store while on a campaign stop in New England in the 1980s.
The family-owned and -operated fresh food store, which first opened in 1969, has six stores in Norwalk, Danbury and Newington, Connecticut, and in East Meadow, Farmingdale and Yonkers, New York.
The company buys directly from hundreds of family-owned farms, ranches and fisheries around the world. Stew’s earned its nickname, the “Disneyland of Dairy Stores,” because of its country-fair atmosphere with costumed characters and animation throughout the store that keeps children entertained while parents shop.
