Are you american and did you ever shop at ALDI?

[Paws]

Love ALDI! We used to stock up on the frozen burger patties like crazy...

This... explains a lot about your weight

(Sak-and-Saves look more like a warehouse, with unopened boxes lining the shelves—ugly, but cheaper.)

That's exactly what Aldi looks like.

In my youth, the bagboys rolled the carts out to your car for you, and then put the bags into your trunk (boot), but that service has become extinct.

Decadent

Much of what they offer is off-brand stuff on the cheap and I've heard quality is then a problem.

If quality was a problem they surely wouldn't be allowed to sell it due to dangerous health risks.

 

[01solara]

I just read an interesting article about ALDI expanding a lot in America and how suddenly during the recession many Americans start to like their "concept". Their "concept" is almost standard for many other chains here and really different from what you are probably used to in the US. So I am curious:
Did you ever shop there?
How was the "experience", what did you like and what not?
Would you like the store even if it was not that cheap?

Yes once and I hated it. Cheap crap for cheap prices and no service at all. The store was poorly organized and not very clean either. I will stick to Kroger. Aldi makes Walmart look like Neiman Marcus.

 

[CGHJ]

In college, Aldi was the only place I could afford. Not the healthiest food, and it was funny because it wasn't generic, but it wasn't any brand you'd ever heard of either. I used to pick up cans of ravioli and beef stew by the case. I also put on an extra 40 pounds. After I left that town and joined the USAF I didn't touch canned ravioli again for prolly 10 years. Even today I can only eat it sparingly.

 

[slickery]

We've got Aldis all over the place here. It's great because it means if theres an Aldi in the area, then prices at other grocers will also be cheaper.

I condone market competition.

 

[Chip12414]

One thing I really like about Aldi's ... in order to get a shopping cart, you have to put a quarter in a slot connected to a chain that won't release a cart without a quarter deposit. Once you finish shopping and fill your car, you return the cart and get your quarter back by slipping the security chain into the last cart.

This means that you don't have abandoned carts flying around, scratching your car or taking up a parking space. (heh heh...well....when I *do* find one or two carts abandoned by spendthrifts, I quickly capture then and pocket the return quarters, further reducing my food bill.

Heh heh.....I *LOVE* it !

 

[StlKj]

Aldi's is definitely not a place you go if you want to run in and grab a few items. I've been to numerous locations, numerous times, and there are never enough cashiers for the number of people in line. Only once did I luck into a short wait. You have to plan your trip and be ready to stand in line for some time. That even stood true back home in a much small community than St. Louis.

 

[theworldwithout]

I've never heard it. Perhaps it's not in this state?

 

[honooryuu]

i have never heard of ALDI's. when i was little my dad was in the military, so we shopped at the commissary on base. when we moved to where i am now, the big grocery chain is food lion. i actually worked there for about 6 months. we bagged the stuff for them. we do have a Sav-a-lot here though, and when i lived in my apartment we shopped there a lot because it was cheaper.

 

[BINOWGAYLATER]

There is an Aldi's 2 miles from home. 3 years ago - i never would have set foot in the place. After I lost my job - a lot of things changed. I buy "some things" there - but not everything. Their canned veggies are excellent -- especially the carrots and green beans. Their Tuna is also real good and a good price - butter - excellent and 25% less than the big grocery store. also some Frozen fish - like Talipia. I have tried some of their store brand 'chips" and crackers and they are quite good.. If you hang around my Aldi's long enuff - you could go home speaking spanish - - or Guesrati - and yes, there is the occasional Beemer or Benz parked in front - after all - I'm there in the Volvo - sooooo...
There are around 400 stores in the US. i thought? - but had no idea they were in Europe..
oh -and ours had pretty decent fresh produce - cheap fresh broccoli and excellent cheap caulifolower !! bananas-- not soo much.... good cheap bread too-- I probably wouldn't buy any meat there tho- like Walmart they use a "up to 12% solution of god knows what to "preserve it" and doubtless make it heavier !!
so you're really not saving - just buying more sodium !
Their ketchup is better than HEINZ ! i think - and much cheaper - but then again - i don't have the nerve to try their mayo !!
all in all they help us buy some food at a savings !!
THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGIN......

 

[BINOWGAYLATER]

When I lived in Marietta Ohio, we had an AUDI store, and did shop there and the prices were real good. They would be in Competition with Grocery Outlet here in Tucson if they came here.

Volkswagon is in the grocery business now? Corny will be really SHOCKED to hear this !!

 

[maxpowr9]

When I was in Australia, I LOVED shopping at Aldi. How I miss their garlic bread. /sigh.

That being said, no, in the US, there is not an Aldi around here.

 

[purina]

I shop there frequently. Mostly to pick up staples - oil, sugar, flour, beans, saltines, chocolate chips, tomato paste, canned spinach, swiss cheese, BBQ chips, oatmeal, ice cream sandwiches... Always bring back the bags to re-use. First time I went I had trouble working the cart lock - a young employee on a smoke break laughed and showed me how.

I see more foreigners from all over the world there then in other stores in my neighborhood - and more white people too. The staff turnover seems high, but I've seen more dykes working there than anyplace else.

The specials are usually a good deal on quality household goods. In the past year I've picked up a couple of 30" bypass and anvil pruners, cordless water kettle, and a Welby 3ft reacher and digital thermometer. A few years ago they had a Medion PC that there was a long thread at fatwallet about.

 

[Lefty]

couldn't help seeing the picture of a can of '''wadded beef", what the hell is wadded beef? inquiring minds want to know.

 

[neruda]

I DID think the vegetables were stale - I shopped at Bloomington Indiana.
But I loved the prices...

 

[Corny]

Although I will say,I really didn't appreciate being charged for a fucking bag..

This is commen here, not just for ALDI but almost any store. Reasoning behind this is to make you use cloth-bags and save the environment.

One thing I really like about Aldi's ... in order to get a shopping cart, you have to put a quarter in a slot connected to a chain that won't release a cart without a quarter deposit. Once you finish shopping and fill your car, you return the cart and get your quarter back by slipping the security chain into the last cart.

Also a very European thing .. personally I kinda consider it to be annoying, but as you said - if it weren't for this system people would leave the carts everywhere.

 

[Dobson73]

There is an Aldi about 5 mins away from me and another in the CBD. They sell the BEST natural muesli I've ever tasted. And they're great for cheaper meats and fresh veges.

Though steer clear of their "Pringles". They quickly became a rubbish bin filler. Overall, they're great and next door to the one close to me is a very cheap greengrocer and also a discount chicken shop. Bargain city!

 

[Lukeee]

In the middle sized supermarkets most of the time you have to insert a £1 coin to get a trolley which you get back when you return it. In some of the bigger ones you don't have to use a coin but they have brakes automatically lock on or they have magnets that stop you from moving when you get so far away from the building. I don't see the point in the coin systems, £1 is nothing to the people who want to ride down a hill in a trolley.

 

[Corny]

It's not against theft, it's against lazy people

 

[Lukeee]

It's not against theft, it's against lazy people

I order most of my stuff online and they deliver it to my door Only lazy people leave the house.

 

[ronboy]

I am American, and yes, I am familiar with Aldi.

The first Aldi opened in the Rochester suburb of Greece around 2000. It was culture shock for the city that invented the cherished Wegmans Superstore.

People balked about paying that quarter for a shopping cart and about buying your grocery bags. But they flocked in droves for the low prices on some national brands, as well as the myriad of off-name brands that are packed for Aldi.

Aldi stores in this area are in the vicinity of 20,000 square feet, compared to a 130,000 square foot Wegmans store. Aldi carries boxed, canned, and jarred goods, as well as selected fresh items such as meat, in-season produce, and frozen items. They do not have an in-store bakery, deli, cheese shop, or prepared fresh foods, ready to heat and eat.

There are now about 20 Aldi stores in the Rochester area, ( a five county area).

I hated to shop there at first (also because when I was with my ex-boyfriend, he worked for Wegmans), and to be truthful, I don't really go there much now. I do like certain items such as snack foods, their bottled cold cappucino, and some basic canned goods. I probably visit the Gates Aldi store (which is cleaner and much better organized that most Aldi stores) about once per month. But for most items I still prefer the traditional supermarkets such as Tops (which is literally around the corner from where I live) and Wegmans (which really is a unique shopping experience).

We also have assorted branches of Sav-A-Lot and Price Rite here and there. Price Rite has been targeting locations in the Rochester city limits, taking over a former Wegmans location, and trying to appeal to the more urban population. Tops also has a few inner-city stores. Wegmans seems to have abandoned the city for the suburbs.