ALDI - anyone shop there?

[malta blue]

www.aldi.com

I have an uber-frugal friend who shops there, but I don't consider her a "healthy" eater, her kids are ALWAYS screaming for food, and so I have never set foot in there.

I found out from another person that it is one of those "hit or miss" type stores, but their private brand is actually quite tasty and a good purchase for the bargain hunter. Because this person is somewhat of a foodie, I'm intrigued now.

So, have any of you shopped at ALDI?

[Lyric]

1. We have one here

We don't shop there anymore because it's on the other side of town and we don't have a car, but we used to shop there all the time. Their private-brand veggies are really good--in fact, I can't remember anything we bought that I considered "bad". They have some terrific deals on perishables, although their meat is pretty much all frozen. Good deals on produce too, and they usually only carry what's "in season", so to speak.

:hi:

[malta blue]

3. thanks for the input.

I am considering checking it out one of these days - it is only 4 miles away, I drive farther to get to the other grocery stores around me.

[Lyric]

5. I almost forgot--take your own shopping bags if you have them.

Aldi requires you to either bring your own bags, or to buy some of their reusable shopping bags. I think this is an admirable thing, because less plastic grocery bags are always good for the environment. They also have special reusable bags available for sale for frozen items--insulated ones that keep your stuff frozen until you get home. You also need to put a quarter in the "lock" on your shopping cart, but you get take the quarter back out if you return the cart yourself, rather than making Aldi staff go fetch it from the parking lot.

:hi:

[malta blue]

9. thanks - I bring my own bags anyway, so that is one less thing

to worry about.

I'll be sure to grab a quarter.
:hi:

[PeaceNikki]

2. They are owned by same company as Trader Joe's

I used to shop there when I was younger and broker... and fact is, I still might if there were one close by.

I agree with the other person, it's "hit or miss". Definitely some savings to be had.

[malta blue]

4. that is good to know.

I am considering checking it out.

I could always use a couple of extra pennies here and there.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

6. I did when I was in Germany.

And I have only shopped there once at the Aldi in my city here in NC.

I get pasta there everyone once and a while.

[malta blue]

12. Thanks CP :)

[dembotoz]

7. aldis is a god send

i am there at least once a week, every week. I do all my mothers grocery shopping due to her disability and she has one near by.
it IS cheaper, and not by just a little bit.
The word is that it is a good place to work for as well with wages and benefits.
I can not verify that, it is just what i have heard.

upside--much much cheaper-on a lot of items by 50 cents or more per item.
Quality--generally excellent. Their fit and active line of reduced calorie stuff is always really good.Dairy stuff is excellent. Have not done much with their meats... Their triple berry cereal is supposed to be wonderful.

downside--sometimes you can get things a bit cheaper on the blowout items in a regular grocer.
the cart and bag thing--takes some getting used to. During the shopping i virtually always find a
cardboard box to put the groceries in. The selection--they will have cans of crushed pineapple in light syrup but they will NOT have 5 different brands and 4 different sizes. If you are really major brand loyal-you will not be Happy. Payment options--cash or debit cards, no check and no charge. I live out of my check book and this has been the most difficult.

All in all??
Aldi is wonderful.
Between costco and aldi my trips to the regular food stores have been reduced dramatically.

[malta blue]

10. we don't have a costco here at all, so any reduction in

prices is a good thing :D

Thanks for the payment info - I live by my debit visa so I assume I am okay with that.

[WillParkinson]

8. Once. Never again.

We bought some English Muffins. When we cooked them up they smelled so rancid that we threw all of them away. Their Corned Beef Hash and Beef Stew(pre-vegan days) had a thick layer of grease on it, much more than other varieties.

Bought 3 things. Threw them all away.

[malta blue]

11. hmmm - thanks for the info.

I will keep that in mind - I am super brand loyal on my english muffins when I buy them, and not really into canned meats, but I would probably buy a couple of things first - not an entire grocery load.

[Orrex]

13. We have a Save-A-Lot and an Aldi's

Save-A-Lot is within walking distance, but Aldi's is on the other side of town, so we don't shop there. Although they're not affiliated, I believe that the two chains have a great deal in common, so I'll post a few thoughts:

True to its name, Save-A-Lot does indeed save us a lot. We've stopped keeping an exact tally, but when we first started shopping there, we observed that a $30 order at Save-A=Lot would cost about $70 at the local "major" grocery chain.


We find the fresh produce at Save-A-Lot to be unsatisfactory, but most other products are as good as or better than their brand-name equivalents. Many items are 40% less expensive than the brand-names, too.

I am ashamed to admit that I resisted patronizing Save-A-Lot for reasons that I now realize are entirely the result of snobbish vanity. In the past three years we've saved literally hundreds of dollars shopping there.

If you have one available to you, I encourage you to give it a try. Even if perishable bread products aren't up to par (as another poster described), you'll find a tremendous number of incredible deals.

[femmocrat]

14. I went in there once. It was a dump.

They had open crates stacked on the floor, not on shelves. The fruit and veggies were pitiful. I went in for walnuts for baking. They were cheaper, but the place was so disgusting I left. Very poorly organized and small selection. Long, long lines at the registers. I'll never go back. I feel really sorry for people who have to shop there.

[TK421]

15. You too, huh?

The one I went into ( I believe it was in Jersey last year ) looked like they were remodeling the place, and there was shit just EVERYWHERE....dust, crap, and broken-down boxes sitting right in the middle of the aisle. I'll pass.....:thumbsdown: Trader Joes is much better

[LostinVA]

16. They're building one here and we're excited

We do most our shopping at Trader Joe's, get household stuff at Costco, and only use a supermarket for filler items.

[WinkyDink]

17. NON-UNION. Owned by a German conglomerate. So no, I don't shop at mine.

[TommyO]

18. Hmm, your Aldi and mine might be the same one?

William Penn Highway?

Around here I shop Wegmans primarily, with some shopping done at Giant (a few items that Wegmans doesn't have, or is significantly more expensive on).

I have done Aldi, but not regularly, or even frequently.

[LostinVA]

19. I'm very pro-union, but I've heard they treat their employees very well

Trader Joe's is supposed to be excellent to their employees, and they're owned by Aldi's.

[greenbriar]

20. they pay well too I used to be an assistant manager at one years ago

back when we had to memorize ALL the prices becasue tehre were no scanners


made good money


hard work tho

they under staff and you have to put all the palates out in between customers


used to have to take "cart tests" memorize all items and then they would put shit in carts and you would have to ring them up to make sure you got all the prices right

[hippywife]

21. I shop at ours regularly

for my staple items: olive oil, olives, butter, cream cheese, sugar, sandwich bread, dried fruit, nuts for baking, mushrooms, some veggies. I buy a fresh pineapple there every week for our lunches because they sell them at $2 under any of the other stores. I don't know about their other items because we don't eat packaged, processed foods.

The prices on the things I do buy are excellent! Don't be thrown off by the detractors talking about the looks of the place. It ain't a shiny upscale grocery with 10 varieties to choose from. They aren't supposed to be. Their whole deal is saving money so they save you money. They are small and things are neatly stacked up, except where the shoppers mess things up, and it's clean.

As far as hit and miss stuff, they have never been out of an item I go in there for, so I guess it just depends on what you need. I go there first before I go to the other grocery store to get the things they don't carry.

Go check them out. I think you'll be surprised. Because they don't staff more than two people in the place at a time, I would go during a non-peak hour so the check-out line isn't too bad.

:hi:

[ScreamingMeemie]

22. All the time...Ours has "healthy" food...like fruits and vegetables

and whole grain breads. It is stupid, in my opinion, not shop there if one has one close by.

[ScreamingMeemie]

23. Double post