topic Re: Aldi's in Community Chat

Aldi's

jst4jan — Wed, 18 May 2022 04:24:36 GMT

There is an Aldi's opening near us. Can you tell me your thoughts about Aldi's?

Re: Aldi's

on the bay — Wed, 18 May 2022 04:45:29 GMT

It has many interesting and specialty things-I've also found all their brands of bread, crackers, tuna, any canned or boxed or bagged goods are as good or better than many main stores so you can't go wrong there.

I haven't tried any of their frozen foods but what I like there are they have some wonderful wines for $3, flowers, spinach dip, cheeses if you eat those and I've found their produce very good but that may vary from state to state.

They also have an aisle of household and seasonal things and toys and even occasionally clothes. I found some garden shoes that I wear all the time for $7.

All their things except for paper products, over the counter medicines and some others are cheaper than most places.

Sometimes the lines are long because there are only 1 or 2 cashiers. The store is small so it can get crowded and you will need your own bags. I like going there occasionally but some people use it as at least one of their main grocery stores.

And they have great chocolate too.

Re: Aldi's

panda1234 — Wed, 18 May 2022 08:54:37 GMT

@jst4jan Just a comment on the long checkout lines. They do move fast due to the fact there are several barcodes on every item and the cashier doesn't have to look for it. Prices are unbeatable, variety of a particular item not so good. Baking isle has lots of good buys.

Re: Aldi's

RNbynite — Wed, 18 May 2022 09:30:15 GMT

@jst4jan ..... Best albacore tuna I have found including name brands,mayonnaise comparable to Hellman's, wonderful chocolate (Belgian, I think) produce is great, need I go on. There are some products one may need to go to another store for, but most staples are very good and cheaper. One downfall is the absence of a deli and no fresh baked goods. I love Aldi's.

Re: Aldi's

gidgetgh — Wed, 18 May 2022 09:51:20 GMT

I didn't care for ALDIs at all. Went twice and haven't been back.

Re: Aldi's

4kitties — Wed, 18 May 2022 10:10:58 GMT

The Aldi I go to is great! Clean, well organized and they have very nice employees!

The produce is very nice and the milk is supplied by a name brand dairy in our area. I see the marked delivery truck there. I like that they have new and different merchandise in the center aisles each week. And special foods that are offered in limited supplies. Makes the store feel "new" each visit!

I can always get in and out of the store quickly, no matter if it is busy or not. I cannot buy everything there as they do not carry many items I buy, but they do have all basic items. If you purchase any item and do not care for it they have a money back guarantee.

I usually get there once a week.

Re: Aldi's

jackthebear — Wed, 18 May 2022 10:24:49 GMT

we shop there a lot

the prices are very good

we like

kcups right now under $4

the chocolates are great

dairy

breads

would say fruit section isn't always great

Re: Aldi's

jackthebear — Wed, 18 May 2022 10:26:30 GMT

@gidgetgh wrote:
I didn't care for ALDIs at all. Went twice and haven't been back.

the first time I went there didn't love it

but after staying in Va a few times we started making a reg trip

Re: Aldi's

ValuSkr — Wed, 18 May 2022 10:27:54 GMT

I think you'll like it. Just don't expect to do all your grocery shopping there. It's a specialty store of sorts, similar to its sister Trader Joe's. I like their bread and cookies.

Re: Aldi's

gidgetgh — Wed, 18 May 2022 14:39:27 GMT

@ValuSkr wrote:
I think you'll like it. Just don't expect to do all your grocery shopping there. It's a specialty store of sorts, similar to its sister Trader Joe's. I like their bread and cookies.

@ValuSkr - and that's part, but not all, of the reason I don't like Aldi or Trader Joe's. I'm a one stop shopping kind of girl. I don't want to "chase" the groceries all over town. I figure my time and gas are worth something and I just want to shop and be done. The nearest Aldi is 10 miles one way. That's 20 miles round trip to only buy a few things.

I don't like the gimmick center aisles at all (same thing at Lidl, another store I don't care for). I'm also not a fan of Whole Foods. WF is way too expensive and, again, I can't do all my shopping in one place.

Re: Aldi's

ScrapHappy — Wed, 18 May 2022 11:10:50 GMT

I've been to Aldi's a couple of times. Trying to like it as much as most people. I didn't find their prices all that great. In most cases I can do the same or better at Kroger with sales and BOGO's at Publix. My sister, however, likes to shop at Aldi's a lot.

Re: Aldi's

4kitties — Wed, 18 May 2022 11:17:20 GMT

I agree, location is everything! Especially now with the gas prices. I do not think I would shop at any store very often if I had to travel a distance to get there.

My Aldi is very close to two other stores and I can get everything I need within walking distance of each store!

Re: Aldi's

Ainhisg — Wed, 18 May 2022 11:49:50 GMT

I used to start my weekly grocery trip by going to Aldi, which is 3 miles away through many stoplights. Then I would head to Wal-Mart and a local grocery store to finish off my list. During the pandemic, I started using Wal-Mart pickup and couldn't have been happier. After things returned to normal (as much as they will ever be), I went to Aldi to buy some things that we like from there. Wow. What a change in quality in many of the items, and the prices had gone up, up, up! They started using different suppliers for some of their staples. Case in point. I use refried beans in a few recipes. Bought a can at Aldi, and when I opened it, there were few beans, some smashed beans, and a lot of water...I mean a lot! Thank goodness I had a can I had purchased at Wal-Mart. Other things that I used to get there were the same way. I figured by the time I spent my gas (especially now), wear and tear on my car, and my time to go to all those stores, plus the quality of their line seems to have gone down, I am better off using Wal-Mart pickup (1 mile away) and going to a local store to buy meat and a few other things. Everything has gone up in all the stores, but unfortunately, I found the quality went down at Aldi. Their bread molds quickly and so do their fruits. This is just my experience.

Re: Aldi's

AnnieBelle — Wed, 18 May 2022 12:00:27 GMT

I enjoy shopping Aldi. I agree, they may be limited in some choices of groceries but as I'm shopping for just my husband and myself, we don't have the same grocery needs that a young family might. I'm flexible in what we need for the week.

The Aldi stores I have shopped have a very nice selection of fresh produce at prices better than local supermarkets. Other favorites include the fresh salmon, lamb when available, marinated pork or turkey tenderloins. They have some great dips, hummus varieties, cheeses, some tasty frozen food finds. We like several of their frozen fish varieties.

It may not be as easy to shop Aldi as a supermarket - you need a quarter for the cart, bags are not provided, you need to bag your own groceries from the cart. I enjoy grocery shopping so I don't begrudge the time I spend doing it.

If nothing else, be open minded and give it a try to see how it works for you.

Re: Aldi's

4kitties — Wed, 18 May 2022 12:04:36 GMT

@Ainhisg

I am sorry to hear this about your store. Maybe it just depends on the local suppliers and bakeries that some of the stores use????

I have seen no difference in the quality of any items purchased at my Aldi. I sometimes buy their bread and it is the same as it has been for years. Same for the buns I sometimes buy there.

Re: Aldi's

tototwo — Wed, 18 May 2022 12:37:30 GMT

I suppose every Aldi is different. We went to ours once. It was filthy dirty for one thing. Plus, it was early in the pandemic - even tho there were signs on the doors and in the parking lot that stated "face masks required," no one inside the store had a mask on, including the employees. I walked down 2 aisles then left quickly, never to return.

Re: Aldi's

millieshops — Wed, 18 May 2022 12:45:05 GMT

I shop Aldi's occasionally - one item I buy every time I go is a box of Crispy Oats. They have no sugar in them but still manage to be quite a good replacement for Cheerios. Every other cold cereal they carry in my Aldi's is loaded with sugar.

I also buy fresh veggies quite often and occasionally fruit. As with every market, selection and quality csn vary - prices, too.

The only Aldi's near me isn't really all that far away but I do have several other supermarkets closer. I didn't even realize they had opened anywhere close to me until they'd been there for more than a year! I was very pleasantly surprised the store is well lighted, well organized, clean, etc.

The Aldi's I knew elsewhere when I was a snowbird was not at all similar to this one -- not at all a pleasant place to shop for much at all. I had to be in its neigborhood for some other reason. Didn't even investigate the last few years I was on LI.

Re: Aldi's

CelticCrafter — Wed, 18 May 2022 13:08:55 GMT

@4kitties wrote:
I agree, location is everything! Especially now with the gas prices. I do not think I would shop at any store very often if I had to travel a distance to get there.

My Aldi is very close to two other stores and I can get everything I need within walking distance of each store!

Our Aldi is one parking lot away from the regular supermarket and then we have Lidl just across the highway from both of them.

If they were farther away I'm not sure we would go once a week.

Re: Aldi's

Magicrat — Wed, 18 May 2022 13:10:59 GMT

I'm a brand name freak. Don't trust anything that's not. (Foodwise).

Re: Aldi's

scatcat — Wed, 18 May 2022 13:11:22 GMT

Organic ground beef

Organic Kale

12 grain bread

White cheddar cheese

knock off ritz and wheat thins are good and cheap

Frozen hash browns and French fries

Their prices on name brand stuff is not great

No "s" in Aldi