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NINA REISMAN INSTRUCTSA QIGONG FUSION CLASS
STEW LEONARD JR .
Clifton
GROUNDBREAKING
It wasn ’ t adog and pony show but acow , duck and pumpkin one that Stew Leonard ’ s brought to the city to announce that its newest grocery store in the Styertowne Shopping Center will open by next summer .
“ This will be our eighth store ,” says Stew Leonard Jr ., CEO and son of the founder of the supermarket chain who died in April . “ We like Clifton ’ s diverse and dense population ,” he says at the site of the new store .
Alarge crowd was on hand at the groundbreaking event on Allwood Road to see Leonard , his extended family , their key managers , Wow the Cow , Stewie the Duck and the 356-pound pumpkin that was dropped from an excavator .
“ I stole the pumpkin idea from David Letterman ,” Leonard tells the well-wishers inthe parking lot .
The plan calls for the new supermarket to integrate the current Stew Leonard ’ s Wine & Spirits store now located at Clifton ’ s Promenade Shops on Route 3 .
The current liquor store , owned and operated by members of the Leonard family , is an independently operated and licensed store , and will , when operational , become part of the growing regional chain of supermarkets .
Seasons , alarge kosher supermarket chain with stores in New York and New Jersey , announced in an April press release that it lost its lease inthe Styertowne Shopping Center . Seasons opened the Clifton site in 2016 and has plans to open other stores including afull-size supermarket in Toms River next year .
— MATT FAGAN
Wayne
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
Anew initiative has residents practicing an ancient form of martial arts , sitting in on an Alzheimer ’ s support group and tapping their inner creativity in apoetry class .
The Wayne for All Ages Resource Center offers those programs and many more free services for senior citizens , but Rosemary Acampora is extending the invitation to everyone .
The resource center is in the clubhouse at Capt . Michael Kilroy Memorial Park at 6Concord Place . It is open from 9:30 a . m . to 3p . m . on Tuesdays , Wednesdays and Thursdays .
Acampora said the resource center is partly funded by a $ 21,400 grant from the Community Advisory Board of Chilton Medical Center in Pequannock Township .
Nina Reisman isaretired professional dancer and psychomotor therapist who instructs aqigong fusion class at the resource center onWednesdays .
Qigong isahealing exercise that involves controlled breathing and mindful movements . There is awaitlist to secure aspot in the popular class , said Reisman , who also teaches the poetry class on the same day .
“ There are different forms of expression that can bring people alot of peace ,” Reisman says . Qigong promotes an “ overall balance of harmony ,” she adds , and it reduces stress .
— PHILIP DEVENCENTIS
STEW LEONARD ’ S : KEVIN R . WEXLER ; SENIORS : CHRIS PEDOTA
4 HOLIDAY 2023 WAYNE MAGAZINE