Leonardo is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP)[9] located on the north shore of Middletown Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States.

The community is situated along the Raritan Bayshore and is part of the Jersey Shore region of the state.

[15] During World War II, the large dock complex of Naval Weapons Station Earle was built to supply ammunition to the forces.

[16][17] Since the Project Nike shutdown in 1974, the Leonardo launch base, designated NY-53, has been redeveloped into single-family home sites.

Leonardo is located in northern Monmouth County, on the south shore of Raritan Bay.

It is in northern Middletown Township and is bordered to the east by the borough of Atlantic Highlands and to the west by unincorporated Belford.

[1] The 2010 United States census counted 2,757 people, 1,001 households, and 742 families in the CDP.

[20] People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Leonardo include: Fictional characters associated with Leonardo: The community is best known as the site of the Quick Stop convenience store and RST Video store (located at 58 Leonard Avenue, just north of Route 36) that was the main location for the 1994 film Clerks, directed by Kevin Smith, who worked at the store at the time.

The same store was also used by Smith in his films Chasing Amy (1997), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), Clerks II (2006) and Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019), and was part of a deleted scene from his film Mallrats (1995).

[citation needed] The location was also used in Kevin Smith's short-lived television show Clerks: The Animated Series (2000), which ran for six episodes on ABC before its abrupt cancellation in mid-2000.