Stewart’s Shops: A Century of Dairy, Community, and People-First Leadership
Stewart’s Shops is a household name across New York, known for fresh milk, award-winning ice cream, and community-centered convenience. But behind every cone, bottle, and shop lies a remarkable 100-year legacy shaped by family leadership, local farmers, and a philosophy rooted in people.
The story begins in 1917, when the Dake family purchased a small dairy farm that would change the course of their future. By 1921, they were making ice cream and butter under the name Dake’s Delicious Ice Cream, planting the early roots of what Stewart’s would one day become. That entrepreneurial spirit carried them through some of the most challenging years in American history, including the 1929 sale of their ice cream business—a stroke of luck that happened just before the Great Depression. When New York introduced pasteurization laws in 1935, the Dakes stepped back into the dairy world, this time with renewed purpose and the foundation for a vertically integrated system that still defines Stewart’s today.
For CEO Gary Dake, the business has always been personal. He grew up next to the company’s ice cream plant and distribution center, spending summer days mowing lawns and taking on jobs that few CEOs can say they’ve done themselves. By the time he left for college, he had handled a wide range of tasks across both the ice cream and dairy operations, gaining what he calls a “ground-level” education in the family business. Before returning to Stewart’s in 1985, Gary worked with Agway and Farm Credit, building relationships with dairy farmers and strengthening his understanding of the agricultural community that Stewart’s continues to rely on today. His leadership reflects that early exposure: a commitment to quality, deep respect for farmers, and a belief that controlling the product “from the farm to the dairy cooler” is the key to keeping standards high.
Vertical integration is more than a business model for Stewart’s—it is the backbone of their promise to customers. The company picks up milk directly from their farm partners, transports it on Stewart’s trucks, processes it at their own dairy plant, bottles it on-site, and delivers it straight to their shops. This complete chain of custody allows Stewart’s to prioritize freshness over shortcuts, quality over contracts, and people over profit margins. It is a system that has earned them repeated recognition at the New York State Fair and the World Dairy Expo, where their milk, ice cream, and gelato have won top honors. But for Gary, those awards are shared victories—proof of the great milk their partner farms produce and the dedication of Stewart’s partners who bottle it and turn it into products New Yorkers love.
Today, Gary works alongside President Chad Kiesow, the first non-Dake family member to hold the title. Chad’s journey began at Bonfair Food Stores, which Stewart’s acquired in the 1990s. With no defined role at the time, he grew within the company, eventually taking charge of the fuels marketing division and becoming one of Stewart’s most trusted leaders. Now, after more than 32 years with the organization, Chad brings a steady, grounded approach to his presidency. His goals reflect the values that have guided Stewart’s for decades: consistency, conservative growth, and unwavering belief in vertical integration as a driver of quality. Chad speaks often about continuity—not as resistance to change, but as preservation of what makes Stewart’s special. His leadership underscores the idea that Stewart’s is, and always will be, a people-first company.
Inside the dairy itself, Dairy Manager Matt St. Onge leads the team responsible for turning fresh milk into the products that stock Stewart’s coolers. After beginning his career at a yogurt factory and earning his master’s degree from Colorado State University, Matt joined Stewart’s with a passion for dairy science and a detail-oriented approach to quality. Under his management, the Saratoga dairy receives milk from twenty-one local farms, with four truckloads arriving each day.
Once the milk enters the plant, it moves through silos, pasteurization, ingredient blending, and filling—all overseen by more than twenty partners dedicated to preserving freshness at every step. Matt is quick to dispel misconceptions about dairy processing, noting that pasteurization is not the enemy of quality; temperature control is. The key, he says, is keeping the milk “as cold as possible throughout the whole process,” a principle his team executes with precision.
For the farms Stewart’s partners with, seeing their milk on local shelves brings a sense of pride that no award can match—though the awards certainly help. When Stewart’s takes home medals, their farmers celebrate too, because those accolades affirm the care they pour into every gallon they produce. It is a relationship built on mutual respect and trust: farmers supply exceptional milk, and Stewart’s carries that quality all the way to the customer.
Across its history and through its leadership, Stewart’s Shops has remained grounded in the same commitment that started it all: put people first. Whether it’s the farmers whose livelihoods depend on fair, stable partnerships; the Stewart’s partners bottling milk before sunrise; the families buying local dairy at their neighborhood shop; or the leaders who began their careers at the ground level, Stewart’s has always been—at its core—a human story.
And at the center of that story stand Gary Dake, Chad Kiesow, and Matt St. Onge—three individuals who not only shape Stewart’s future, but who are, in every sense, New York Dairy.
Watch our spotlight video on Stewart’s Shops here: https://youtu.be/xnt4-8QqEzU
