Aldi's grocery store

[LSFL]

Been going there for awhile now. The dairy is dirt cheap and eggs are 29 cents a dozen. The store brands are very comparable in taste at 30 to 50 percent less than national brands. Do you have an Aldi's near you? What is your take?

[Sanity Claws]

1. The produce is surprisingly good and at a great price

I haven't tried too many of their other products.

[dflprincess]

2. There are several in my area

but I haven't been to any - I try to stick the union grocery stores in the area. (I realize not every area has unionized stores and that I'm fortunate that I feel that I can afford the prices for now. I may have to change my mind in 6 years or so when I'm retired & on a fixed income.)

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

23. I hope you are able to stay with the union grocery stores.

Recently I needed to buy a rake for my back yard, and I went to a locally owned nursery. Maybe I paid a few dollars more for the rake than I would have at one of the national chains, but I don't care. I really want to support local businesses. It's not always possible to do that. For instance, all of the grocery stores are national chains. I console myself that at least the employees are local.

But I am also on a fixed income, and so I understand financial issues.

[GP6971]

3. None in my area

German owned and a well run company. Their biggest competitor was Supervalu's Save-A-Lot which I heard they recently sold.

[Major Nikon]

6. Their European competitor, Lidl is set to open stores around the US

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-12/european-grocery-rivalry-expands-to-u-s-as-aldi-lidl-bulk-up

[GP6971]

10. I saw that

I worked for Supervalu a long time ago and still occasionally follow grocery news.

[Cracklin Charlie]

4. We have Aldi.

They have good bread.

[LSFL]

17. Yes

I have been sneaking the whole wheat white on the family for sometime now. The fools suspect nothing!

[Cracklin Charlie]

21. My daughter got me hooked on brioche buns.

And the mini croissants make the most a-mazing cinnamon toast and French toast.

[Major Nikon]

5. I would probably go there more often if they had one closer

The only thing I don't like is they are fairly small and selections are limited. About as far away is a new Winco that also has very low prices and a huge selection.

[madaboutharry]

7. The grocery cart set up is kind of annoying.

There is an Aldi a few blocks away and right across the street from there is a Trader Joe's. I haven't been to Aldi in a while, I think I'll check it out again.

[LSFL]

14. I keep a quarter in my car

Often you can find someone going in and they will give you a quarter and take your cart so you don't have to return it. I either keep bags in the jeep or grab a few from the cabinet when i get home and carry the goods in. I just got custody of my grandson and I am saving at least 30 dollars a week over Kroger and Walmart. I would prefer to support Kroger more, but I cannot nourish my boy properly at those prices. They are not outrageous by any means and i buy most of my chicken breasts at Kroger, but i am winding toward retirement and need to make every dollar count as the boy eats more than my wife and I combined.

[MattP]

26. One brother owns Traders Joes and the other Aldi's right?

[NCjack]

8. A store opened June 15 in Sanford, NC. I will check it out on Saturday, 17th.

[Pachamama]

9. Popular German Supermarket Chain - they own Trader Joes

In Germany very popular and is essentially "Trader Joes of Germany". Their quality is high and they compete in with a chain of supermarkets called "Lidl"...

Way better value and quality in my opinion than any American "discount" foodstore.

There are none on West coast (that I know of). But when I am back in Germany visiting family, is shope there and am always impressed by some of the organic food offerings.

[LSFL]

11. Truly I have found them

To be superior to Savalot. As well as cheaper. The fit and active store brand offers great products at a fraction more than the regular stuff. Savalot offers nothing as far as low calorie/fat goes.

[Dalai_1]

34. Lidi....,

Has opened a store in Winston-Salem NC
And going to open one on the North End of Winston..
haven't been but looking forward to soon

[sinkingfeeling]

12. I used them until they relocated to the other side of town.

[samplegirl]

13. We have one

I hate the grocery cart set up and hate bagging my own stuff but it's the only way to get things cheaper I guess. Aldi has gotten better over the years. Everything was just so generic so I rarely went there. Now it is a better selection.

[PennyK]

35. It's really not a big deal.

Ya put in a quarter, and ya get it back.
I come from Long Island (I'm in Florida now) and I had been bagging my own groceries for years. At Publix here, the baggers puts his hands on your cart and gets ready to push it out for you, but my New York instincts make me want to shove him away lol! It's taken me five years to get to the point where I can say "thanks, I'm good."
And I think Manhattan groceries used to have that "quarter deal" going back to my childhood.

[hedda_foil]

15. The products are very comparable to name brand.

Their produce used to be pretty awful but it's the same as the mid-range supermarkets now, including a decent selection of organic fruit and vegetables. The staff works very hard but they're well paid and provide good service.

[LSFL]

16. And may I add that the cashiers are insanely fast?

So a long line means little.

[DURHAM D]

18. They are timed.

If they don't work at lightning speed they are fired. It is a very stressful work environment.

[LSFL]

22. All work environments are stressful to me

Can you mount and balance four tires on a passenger vehicle in 30 minutes? Can you put 8 tubeless tires on a semi in an hour? Can you do 8 2 piece truck tires in less than 90 minutes?

It is hard. But if you can achieve these goals you can work hard and support your family. And good management can tell within a few days if you are capable.
I use the tire example because it is how i raised my family and bought my house.
It is no different in the grocery business. You must be able to perform competently under stress and time limits.

[MattP]

28. My family owned a tire store i learned on a fmc and a bubble balance back in the day

[Demsrule86]

37. Not in our area...the help is treated very well and paid well too...they sit on stools and are not

expected to stand all day as in other stores...they are not timed at all. I know people that work there.

[DURHAM D]

19. Please see my post below.

Edit: Please see my other post just above.

[DURHAM D]

20. I have tried them several times but no longer go there.

Example of typical problem - I bought two cans of pitted cherries and decided to check them carefully before dumping them into the mixing bowl. In the first can I found two cherries that still had their pit, in the second can I found one. Glad I checked so my guests didn't break a tooth. Almost everything just falls a little short.

[Vinca]

24. We have one near us and there are rarely more than a handful of cars there.

When they first opened I went in and wasn't impressed. For starters, I don't like to buy produce that is pre-packaged and wrapped in cellophane. The selection in this particular store was very limited. I was irked they wanted me to pay money to retrieve a cart even though I could get it back later. I'll stick with Hannaford's a half mile up the road.

[Motley13]

25. Publix in Florida, they are employee owned

We have an Aldi but it is not close & Publix is, they have lots of BOGOs

[Siwsan]

27. I do about 90% of my grocery shopping at Aldi's

The store is small, has almost everything I need. The staff at my local store is wonderful. I love looking for their special buys. And, the store is only about a mile up the road, from me. In fact, I have one of their 'Mama Cozzi's' Supreme Pizzas in the oven, right now, and I'll wash it down with some of their Monterrey Cerveza.

I worry that if they didn't see me, at least twice a week, they will put my picture on a a 'Have You Seen This Woman' poster, in their front window.

[Freddie]

29. Not happy with what they did locally

Aldi's bought all the Bottom Dollar grocery stores in the region, turned some of them into Aldi's and the rest into empty stores. Guess which my town has, in a part of town that really needs a grocery store. I understand Aldi's is paying the rent to the shopping center until the lease runs out so they have no reason to even try to put another grocery store in that space. Grrrr.
On a personal note, I stay away from Aldi's because of their delicious "bucket" of private label pretzel rods, which would only end up on my hips.

[CozyMystery]

30. I love Aldi

I especially enjoy buying the berries and mushroom at a much lower price than Giant Eagle. I noticed that their produce stays fresher longer than that of either GE or Walmart (our other choices).

My daughter loves their yogurt. I like the chocolate truffles they have at Christmas, but not their regular chocolate brands. Raised partly in Germany by a German chocoholic mother, I am really picky about how chocolate tastes. I am not implying that I am a chocolate expert -- just a picky person.

Most of all, I love their canned beans. Not just the price, the taste. Lots of times, I just have a can of beans for a meal.

I like the small selection -- much faster shopping trips result.

[Callalily]

31. Aldi's is my first stop when shopping for groceries.

Unfortunately, they don't always have everything on my list.

Prices are great, selection (most of the time) is more than adequate, produce is fresh, breads are good too!

I like their "special buys", but the downside...if there's something I like, they may not have it the next time I'm at the store! Can live with that though! It's a nice way to try new items.

[PennyK]

32. I've become a fan

Tried it when one opened locally several years ago and was not impressed.
I decided to take a look again several months ago, and WOW! They've really increased the variety of their stock. Prices are low, quality is very good, and they have goodies to tempt you. I especially love their smoked salmon, bacon, breads, cheddar cheeses, Italian sausage, and chocolate. I would say prices are about half what you'd pay at a supermarket.
Now when I go out to shop, I hit Aldi first, and then go across the street to Publix for the few items remaining on my list.

[PossiblePasts]

33. Like Aldi but looking forward to Lidl

Like others, I can't do a full weekly shop at Aldi. I start there and get what I can. There's only been a few products I wasn't happy with. We don't eat a lot of meat, but I do like their grass fed organic ground beef. Their chocolate is yummy!!

When we lived in the UK I preferred Lidl over Aldi.

[Fla Dem]

36. They also own Trader Joe's store chain.

Aldi (stylized as ALDI) is the common brand of two leading global discount supermarket chains with over 10,000 stores in 18 countries, and an estimated combined turnover of more than €50 billion.[1][3][4] Based in Germany, the chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946 when they took over their mother's store in Essen, which had been in operation since 1913.

The business was split into two separate groups in 1960, that later became Aldi Nord, headquartered in Essen; and Aldi Süd, headquartered in nearby Mülheim.[5][6] In 1962, they introduced the name Aldi (a syllabic abbreviation for Albrecht Diskont),[7] which is pronounced [ˈaldiː] ( listen). In Germany, Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd have been financially and legally separate since 1966, although both divisions' names may appear (as if they were a single enterprise) with certain store brands or when negotiating with contractor companies. The formal business name is Aldi Einkauf GmbH & Compagnie, oHG.

Aldi's German operations consist of Aldi Nord's 35 individual regional companies with about 2,500 stores in western, northern, and Eastern Germany, and Aldi Süd's 32 regional companies with 1,600 stores in western and southern Germany.[citation needed] Internationally, Aldi Nord operates in Denmark, France, the Benelux countries, the Iberian Peninsula, and Poland, while Aldi Süd operates in Ireland, Great Britain, Hungary, Switzerland, Australia, Austria and Slovenia (Aldi Süd operates as Hofer within the latter two countries). Both Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd also operate in the United States; Aldi Nord is owner of the Trader Joe's chain, while Aldi Süd operates as "Aldi".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldi