Stewart’s Shops first opened its doors in the Watertown area in 1994 with 13 shops; ten years later the company has grown to serve even more communities in the region with 26 stores in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence Counties. Area residents have come to know Stewart’s as a welcoming convenient place to stop for their morning coffee & pastries, meet up with friends, and enjoy dozens of flavors of homemade ice cream. “We appreciate our customers’ loyalty over the last decade”, comments Stewart’s District Manager Casey Kanclerz, “and look forward to many more years of meeting their needs. We credit our success to good customers and good crews- together they make a great team.” Stewart’s employs nearly 250 people in the three-county area and touts their “partners” as their greatest asset. Stewart’s partners (employees) own 1/3 of the company and devote their efforts as owners to help grow the business. It pays off in profits as Stewart’s contributed $14.9 Million to their employee profit sharing plan this year.
Caring and Sharing
Stewart’s is committed to giving back to the communities surrounding their shops and contributes 5% of profits annually to local charitable organizations. The company also matches donations made by customers during the holidays to benefit local children’s charities. As a result of the 2003-2004 Holiday Match program, Stewart’s gave over $50,000 to groups for kids this spring in Jefferson, St. Lawrence and Lewis counties.
Invitation to celebrate
The company thanks their employees and customers in the Greater Watertown area for a successful decade and extends an invitation to a 10th Anniversary Party at their shop at the corner of State and Gifford Street in Watertown on Saturday, June 26th from 10am-4pm. Customers can enjoy 50¢ off any hand-dipped ice cream treat (including the new Birthday Cake flavor) and several other specials. Winners will be drawn on the 26th for a giveaway of $100 worth of gasoline, and 10 winners of 10 half gallons of milk. Anyone can enter the drawing starting June 21st at Stewart’s Shops in Adams, Black River, Brownville, Carthage, Copenhagen, Evans Mills, Gouverneur, Great Bend, Harrisville, Lowville, Philadelphia, & Watertown.
Ice cream history rich with tradition
Although Stewart’s has been in the North Country for 10 years, the company opened their first shop nearly 60 years ago, in 1945. Phyllis E. Dake, wife of Charlie Dake, invented the now famous “Make Your Own Sundae” in 1948. That same year, Stewart’s was also the first to introduce the square folding half gallon ice cream carton in cooperation with the Sutherland Paper Company. By 1955, there were over 50 shops in operation. Stewart’s opened their 100th shop in 1981, 200th in 1993 and 300th in the year 2000. This year, 2004, the company is celebrating the 100th birthday of the ice cream cone and 10 years in the Watertown Area. Stewart’s recently introduced a new ice cream flavor for the occasion named “Birthday Cake”; it combines vanilla ice cream, a blue whipped cream swirl, and confetti cake pieces.
