“I’ve been shopping at Stew Leonard’s since when they still had vending machines for their milk,” Stewart, a former longtime Westport resident, said to the crowd of fans on Saturday, Oct. 25. “I think that was back in the '70s.”
Stewart’s newest book, “One Pot,” features more than 120 “easy meals from your skillet, slow cooker, stockpot, and more,” and had customers waiting in line for about two and a half hours just to get their copy signed.
Corey Mercer and Kurt Fladten got to Stew Leonard’s at 10 a.m. and were the first in line.
“She was the original lifestyle expert,” Mercer said as he waited in front of the long line for the appearance of Stewart, who now lives in Katonah, N.Y.
By 11:30 a.m., the parking lot at the 100 Westport Ave. supermarket had reached near capacity and the tent had begun to overflow with customers. Some came to see what the commotion was about, others to grab a last minute copy of the book and hop in line.
Meghan Bell, director of public relations for Stew Leonard’s, said this wasn’t the first time Stewart had come to Norwalk to do a book signing. Stew Leonard’s has also played host to cooking giants Giada De Laurentiis and Bobby Flay, she said.
“We’re a foodie place, so we love to bring in big name chefs for our customers,” Bell said.
Viv Stewart attended the event with her friend and co-worker Sally Mcclenathan, and the two were nothing but smiles after briefly chatting with Martha Stewart.
“Although my last name is Stewart, (Martha) got all the cooking jeans,” Viv Stewart joked. “Hopefully this cookbook will help me perfect my meatloaf.”
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