Topic: Aldi Food Stores

[micah]

Anyone else see these Aldi Markets poping up in their neighborhoods?

My wife and I went in one the other day. They only sell generic off-brand foods, require a quarter deposit to use a shopping cart, don't have shopping bags and don't accept credit cards.

I think in this economy its a win-win grocery store. 

We only bought a few things there - of note, their diet cola tastes very good. It is comparable to Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi (not as bitter as coke but not as sweet as pepsi - and without the bite) 

I don't know if i'd buy produce there, but I could otherwise see doing a full grocery order there and saving quite a bit of money.

[Steve]

they are popular in NJ. I hate them. They often seem kinda dirty/shabby and though they are cheaper they arent any cheaper then walmart markets or even pathmark. And when i go there its clean and they have bags

[micah]

maybe its because the one I was in is new. Its seem very clean, and had a nice "iKea feel" to it.   

This new store is also much closer then the walmart super center that takes a quarter-tank of gas to get to and back (and is dirty and has horrible customer service)

[hans]

We have a couple in my area but they aren't that great. They have some good deals but not enough to justify a special trip to get them. My Aunt and Uncle in St Louis love them though.

[Steve]

none of the ones up north had an ikea feel, more like one step up from a flea market. I never saw a walmart neighborhood market until i moved here, and i love it. It's clean and incredibly cheap. We also have Windixie (not many though) and Publix.

[ober]

I get the flea market vibe from Aldi as well.  They've been in PA for a while but I don't know of any in Ohio.

[Dumah]

We have them all over in the UK. I think they are a German company. Not bad really, cheap, but some good stuff

[Steve]

Walmart is the only store where I can look around
at the other customers and think, man, I'm better
than everybody here.

walmart scares me sometimes yea

[KnuckleBuckett]

Our Aldi's is ok.  I see regular normal brand names here.  Been a year or so since we visited though.  Food wise we got a Butterball turkey once.  I forget what else.  Soda and such I think.

What I like is the center aisle of not food stuff.  Got a pile of great stuff of very good quality.  Hose nozzle for the yard, a 12 sheet paper shredder, a rake, and such.  The shredder was only about $15!  Those things are not cheap.  We have been using it for about five years now. 

[Steve]

i kinda suspect its all stolen product feeding terrorists

[A Bit of Fruit]

I really don't like going. It has a really negative vibe about it, I prefer to support the Australian owned shop, but most of all they don't have everything I want so I would have to go to another supermarket anyway in addition to Adli's.

Also, the few times Ive been in there it seems to me a lot of people buy a bunch of garbage just because its so cheap. I don't eat much junk food at all so it surprised me when the family in front of my bought chips by bulk and a case of some bullshit energy drink, among other shit. If they were in a normal store that stuff would be too expensive to buy so much of

[drakkenkorin]

none down here in the south

[KnuckleBuckett]

I do agree with the negative vibe...

[Jake]

There are a bunch of Aldis all around Chicago, and have been since I can remember - they are a value grocery store and they generally go up in mid and lower middle class areas. I haven't shopped in one since I was a kid, and I hope I'll never have to. The one thing I remember is buying their branded coke cans and it had no sugar/taste just the color.

As far as Aldis in Europe - it is the same company, but the quality is higher...

[Steve]

My buddy will went to mcdonalds in london and now he cant eat there anymore. He said it was so much different and so much better that american mcd's makes him throw up