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The ground-breaking ceremony on the grocery store was held Friday morning at Paramus Park Mall -- live cows and tractors on hand to toast with fresh milk (click here for video footage).
Paramus Mayor Rich LaBarbiera welcomed CEO Stew Leonard to the "center of the retail universe."
"We could not be more please that above that door it says 'Stew Leonard's,'" the mayor said. Let 07652 be your lottery ticket."
Senator Joe Lagana predicted this will be the most successful Stew Leonard's location and vowed to be a familiar face in the store once doors open.
Known as the “Disneyland of Dairy Stores,” the family-owned and operated Paramus store is located at the former site of Sears.
It will be serving products from hundreds of local New Jersey farms at its new 80,000-square-foot store and create more than 350 jobs.
The once-popular flagship location was visited by hundreds of thousands of shoppers from throughout New York City and northern New Jersey.
Stew Leonard’s is a $400 million-a-year company currently welcoming more than 11 million shoppers annually.
It was designated the “World’s Largest Dairy Store” by the Guinness Book of World Records.
The store is aiming for a fall opening date.
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