'The Bachelorette' Visited Stew Leonard's, The Wildest, Weirdest, and Greatest Grocery Store of All Time

There’s no better way to get a taste of Fairfield County, Connecticut than with a couple lobster rolls…and maybe also some robot cows and animatronic milk cartons. On last Monday’s episode of ABC Network’s The Bachelorette, Jenn Tran — this season’s leading woman — traveled around the country to visit the hometowns of her four remaining suitors.

She went on a run in Houston, played lacrosse in San Diego, and sat on a bench in Tacoma, Washington (so fun!), but without a doubt, the most iconic date of the episode was at Stew Leonard’s grocery store in Fairfield, Connecticut.

Fairfield, where Bachelorette contestant Jeremy Simon is from, is pretty similar to any other coastal, suburban town within Fairfield County. There’s a charming town square, long hiking trails through the forest, and some rocky beaches. But as someone who’s also from Fairfield County, I can confidently say that if you’re visiting the area for the first time, the absolute best thing you can do is visit the very first Stew Leonard’s location, which opened in 1969.

Stew Leonard’s isn’t like other grocery stores. In addition to having seasonal produce, high-quality dairy products, and an excellent prepared foods section, Stew Leonard’s is a theatrical experience. Rather than having traditional aisles, the eight Stew Leonard’s locations are laid out more like Ikea, where shoppers follow a path that takes them through every section of the store, and along that path, are the occasional dancing and singing animatronics. 

The bakery section, with fresh-from-the-oven bagels and rice cakes, takes you to the dairy section where there’s a life-sized animatronic cow — pull a rope, and it will make a loud “moo” (a sound that is infamous for terrifying young children). There are puppets doing flips on high bars, a five-piece milk carton band, avocados and bananas with their own jingles, and enough free samples to make a meal out of the shopping trip.

There’s also a full butcher shop and fish market, a flower shop in the spring, a patio to order barbecue in the summer, a pumpkin patch in the fall, and Christmas trees in the winter. Plus, there’s some of the best soft serve in all of Connecticut. (If you spend over $100 in groceries, you can get a free cone). It’s a whimsical wonderland of food and Jeremy made the very wise decision of taking Jenn there for his hometown date. Did I forget to mention that Ripley’s Believe It Or Not recognized the original Norwalk, Connecticut location as the“World’s Biggest Dairy Store”?

"This place is very nostalgic to me,” Jeremy said in the episode. “Bringing Jenn here today gives a little glimpse into what the future could hold.” He and Jenn explored the store together, juggling avocados, tasting cheese and popcorn samples, and even trying their hand at bagging groceries. “Today has been kooky, crazy, and so much fun,” said Jenn. “This is the wildest grocery store I’ve ever been to.”

Tragically, Jeremy was eliminated at the end of the episode. There’s no way to know why Jenn didn’t offer him a rose, but one thing’s for sure: it’s not because of Stew Leonard’s.