Anybody shop at an Aldi supermarket?

We have one 1/2 mi from our house. It was recently renovated. The quality of the food is very good, prices are very low (like Costco but small quantities) and the produce freshness is excellent. That being said, you can only buy the high volume stuff there - forget about shallots and artichokes. It doesn't have as much gourmet stuff as Trader Joes, or a big selection of energy bars, but it does carry a good selection of a lot of organic items and even grass fed beef. They also have an isle of rotating seasonal stuff, like beach toys and phone chargers.

For example, Aldi organic ketchup is $1.80, the Heinz version is $5 at other stores. They are even cheaper than Meijer. Bags cost extra, so bring your own.

The downside is that they tend to run out of produce late in the day, and hours are more limited (9-8 most days). Aldi carries a lot of house brands, but quality is good. There is decent selection of wine and craft beer too. Payment methods are cash, CC or ApplePay, and you are always out in < 5 min.

I almost always walk and bring a few bags, and go a few times per week.
 
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The two closest Aldi stores are a good hour from me, one of which is in the city where my kid goes to college. So when we visit him, we'll stop at the Aldi store to buy 5-6 gallons of milk. We the put most of it in the deep freeze and thaw it out as we need it. Their milk is cheaper than anywhere else. Fresh fruit can be iffy at Aldi (some is good, some so-so), but their bananas are cheaper than anywhere else. We buy frozen orange juice there by the case, along with yogurt. Canned goods are okay, depending on what you buy. My wife buys certain flavors of cheese there because we think it is better than the name brands. Plain, ordinary white or wheat bread is much cheaper there than anywhere else. There are a few things there we look to buy and other things we avoid.
It just all depends, but overall, we like going there.
 
we like the produce but are careful picking. The chocolate bars are very good and priced below any other store in this area. Trader Joes is much better, their cereal is quite good especially the ginger granola. They can keep the two buck chuck tho.
 
I pay our nanny the $15/hr and she takes our youngest shopping with our list. So thankful for that! She does Aldi and a cheaper place called Market Basket.
 
The Aldi's here isn't any cheaper than any other place around here, but the products are definitely cheaper quality. We shop at the commissary anyway though.
 
I like Aldis for their store brand canned goods especially the beans. And the 28 oz tins of soda crackers. The quarter deposit on the carts is a concept that should be universal. Big fan of "lean " business model. Market Basket is a great place to shop too..
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I went a few years ago. Hated it. Went again a year later. Hated it. Didn't understand the concept. Went again, started to understand the concept and really liked the prices. I gave it another chance and now it's my favorite grocery store. I try to get most things there and then the last remaining things I needs from Walmart or Publix.

I save at least 40% off my grocery bill shopping at Aldi. I like the smaller packages of chicken breast too. It's just the wife and I, we only need two chicken breast, which cost $3 at Aldi. All the other grocery stores sell massive packages of chicken breast for $7 to $12, which is way too large for two people.

Renting the cart for a quarter is genius. They don't have to send employees out to round up the carts - the customers do it for them, for free! Every grocery store should do this. You'll never find a cart in the parking lot because someone will snag it(and the free quarter) within seconds.

I read an Aldi blog that is put together by a soccer mom. She puts the weeks deals together with recipe cards. So a good rotation of different foods, different recipes, all bought using the weeks sales, which means I don't get stuck in a food rut eating the same things week after week. Plus it's fun to cook new things you might never have tried before.

https://www.mashupmom.com/category/meal-planning/
 
Originally Posted by bubbatime
Renting the cart for a quarter is genius. They don't have to send employees out to round up the carts - the customers do it for them, for free! Every grocery store should do this. You'll never find a cart in the parking lot because someone will snag it(and the free quarter) within seconds.


Just my stoopid comment of the day, but how sophisticated are those quarter holders. I mean, are they as advanced as a Coke machine for detecting fakes. Could someone use a Canadian quarter? Or even a quarter size 2 cent fender washer from Home Depot?
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Just my stoopid comment of the day, but how sophisticated are those quarter holders. I mean, are they as advanced as a Coke machine for detecting fakes. Could someone use a Canadian quarter? Or even a quarter size 2 cent fender washer from Home Depot?


They're pretty rudimentary. Push quarter shaped object in, release chain. It does nothing with weight, I imagine you could fool it with anything.

I've never found one with anything other than a quarter in it.. I doubt many people try... because it's just a quarter after all!

There have been plenty of times I've forgotten to retrieve my quarter. Putting the cart away is habit no matter where I'm at, fetching said quarter is not.

There have also been times I've arrived at Aldi to realize I don't have a quarter in my pocket (I rarely carry cash). In those instances I drive the 1/4 mile down the road to Kroger and buy my groceries there instead. So it's not a perfect solution by any means when you're sometimes sending your customers to the competitor! I've resorted to putting a quarter in the glovebox of every car now, so this rarely happens unless my wife steals it and doesn't put it back.
 
Originally Posted by 92saturnsl2
Originally Posted by atikovi
Just my stoopid comment of the day, but how sophisticated are those quarter holders. I mean, are they as advanced as a Coke machine for detecting fakes. Could someone use a Canadian quarter? Or even a quarter size 2 cent fender washer from Home Depot?


They're pretty rudimentary. Push quarter shaped object in, release chain. It does nothing with weight, I imagine you could fool it with anything.

I've never found one with anything other than a quarter in it.. I doubt many people try... because it's just a quarter after all!

There have been plenty of times I've forgotten to retrieve my quarter. Putting the cart away is habit no matter where I'm at, fetching said quarter is not.

There have also been times I've arrived at Aldi to realize I don't have a quarter in my pocket (I rarely carry cash). In those instances I drive the 1/4 mile down the road to Kroger and buy my groceries there instead. So it's not a perfect solution by any means when you're sometimes sending your customers to the competitor! I've resorted to putting a quarter in the glovebox of every car now, so this rarely happens unless my wife steals it and doesn't put it back.


If I'm shopping alone, I've never once used a cart, I grab a cardboard box they have inrecycables throw in what I want and check out, it's usually specific things and meat clearance that I pick up.

My favorites are all seasonal which sucks, the squash spaghetti sauce is a favorite. Got a 5lb tub of hamburger for $2.50 three different times.

Honestly the store was better when they were truly cash only, kept out a lot of zoned out ideots

Now it gets more crowded, I usually am behind the guy with a 100 cereal boxes and alcohol
 
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Originally Posted by atikovi
They could at least put a change machine by the carts.


I agree. My wife told me that the cashiers will give you a quarter for free (she goes and bugs them when she forgets a quarter), but I hate being that clown standing behind the cashier waiting for her attention as she's scanning things at warp speed trying to get people out the door... It's too easy just to drive down the street to Kroger where they don't need a quarter, even if it costs me a few bucks more.

When you have 4 kids, shopping cart isn't optional. I've done the fill up your arms with all they can possibly hold song and dance more times than I can count. The beauty of it is, most patrons will feel bad for you and let you cut to the front of the line
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I will do probably 75% of my shopping there, figure cereal, granola bars, oatmeal, snacks and everything for breakfast and lunch. Plus milk, bread, cat litter and other basics. I've only a few times had a problem with something I've bought there, but the cost is so low it's not worth running back and standing in line. The quarter for the carts is genius, if for no other reason than it keeps most of them off the side of my truck. I do wish they'd add another cashier or two, but considering most of the local grocery stores and Walmart usually have one or two cashiers at most in addition to (broken) self checkouts I can deal with the line.

The big thing for me is it keeps me from going to my local Walmart which I swear is the basis for PeopleofWalmart.com...
 
Originally Posted by bbhero
I like Harris Teeter... Though they can be pricey... But they also have good sales too. My trip two weeks ago I saved $61... Instead of $164 I paid $103.

You didn't exactly "save" any money. The $164 charge is artificially higher than it should be.
 
We shop at Aldi probably 90% of the time, with a stop at another store if we need more 'exotic' items.

Our locations are clean, you can easily be in/out with quick check-out area's and it's nice not having 50 brands of mustard or other items... Keeps thing quick/easy and prices are great. We spend far less than when we used to shop at other grocery stores.

We enjoy the seasonal items and such, as well. No complaints from me... We even made sure to visit an Aldi Sud while in Bavaria this summer!

On a side note, Trader Joe's and Aldi are closely related, spawning from the same family. One brother basically bought into and runs Trader Joe, while the other is Aldi Sud (Germany) and Aldi here in the US. Or something like that...
 
I did a comparison between Aldi's, Walmart, Kroger and the commissary last year. Aldi was more expensive with almost everything.

Milk
Aldi - $2.59/gal
Wal - $2.39/gal
Kro - $2.39/gal
Com - $2.69/gal (no store brand)

Chicken breasts
Aldi - $1.89/lb
Wal - $1.99/lb
Kro - $1.99/lb
Com - $1.39/lb

Canned veggies
Aldi - $0.59/ea
Wal - $0.38/ea
Kro - $0.69/ea
Com - $0.50/ea

Hamburger meat (80/20)
Aldi - $3.59/lb
Wal - $3.39/lb
Kro - $3.39/lb
Com - $2.33/lb

Eggs (dozen, large)
Aldi - $1.19
Wal - $0.99
Kro - $1.19
Com - $0.89

Bread (sandwich, white, cheapest option)
Aldi - $0.88
Wal - $0.85
Kro - $1.10
Com - $1.19

There's also a quality issue. With no employees that regularly turn over inventory, stuff goes bad. Fruits that are rotting/molding, ground beef turning brown, and milk that's a week past the sell by date are all things I've seen regularly at Aldi's. Maybe this one Aldi's is just a bad egg. It's the only Aldi's I've been in.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Originally Posted by bubbatime
Renting the cart for a quarter is genius. They don't have to send employees out to round up the carts - the customers do it for them, for free! Every grocery store should do this. You'll never find a cart in the parking lot because someone will snag it(and the free quarter) within seconds.


Just my stoopid comment of the day, but how sophisticated are those quarter holders. I mean, are they as advanced as a Coke machine for detecting fakes. Could someone use a Canadian quarter? Or even a quarter size 2 cent fender washer from Home Depot?


You get your quarter back when you return the cart. Not much point to resort to forgery.
 
Originally Posted by 92saturnsl2
Originally Posted by atikovi
They could at least put a change machine by the carts.


I agree. It's too easy just to drive down the street to Kroger where they don't need a quarter, even if it costs me a few bucks more.



You know whats easier? Almost every car I have every owned has a change holder, or ashtray. You can fill those puppies up with quarters. Each car I own has 15-20 quarters in it. Never be without a quarter again.
 
Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by bbhero
I like Harris Teeter... Though they can be pricey... But they also have good sales too. My trip two weeks ago I saved $61... Instead of $164 I paid $103.

You didn't exactly "save" any money. The $164 charge is artificially higher than it should be.



Nah... You are way wrong on that hoss...

Prices... I know... Extremely well... I have worked in grocery stores... And I know what the prices are for things.

Try again.
 
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