Posted on 12/27/2013 12:50:27 AM PST by iowamark
Chances are that you have never set foot inside the best grocery store in America: Aldi. And even if you are lucky enough to be in one of the 32 states where Aldi is, perhaps you were put-off by the cardboard boxes in lieu of shelves, or the row upon row of suspicious-looking off-brands. What is this place? Why do I have to put down a deposit to check out a cart? What is the weird giant shelf by the exit? And what do you mean, I have to pay for a bag?
Calm your hormones, meine Schatzis: Aldi, which is short for Albrecht Discount, is the American incarnation of a German grocery chain that is so ubiquitous in the Vaterland that almost 90 percent of Germans shop there...
A disagreement in 1960 over selling cigarettes hastened a partition, and an epic game of grocery-store Risk: Theo would rename his business Aldi Nord, and would control territories north of the Rhine, plus a healthy chunk of Europe. Karl would head up Aldi Süd, and get southern Germany, more of Europe, plus the U.K. and Ireland. But both companies operate stores in the United States—Aldi Süd operates as Aldi, and Aldi Nord as the now ubiquitous Trader Joe’s.
But whereas Trader Joe’s employs just one major cost-saving device—private labeling—everything else about it is Americanized. The place is swarming with upbeat employees; cashiers stand at the till and bag your products for you; you just grab a cart willy-nilly and they trust you to put it back. Aldi also private-labels (those $1.99 “Millville” Rice Squares are Chex, you guys!), but what makes it a more exciting venture—and even cheaper than Trader Joe’s—is that it has imported the entire German grocery experience...
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...
Aldi is part of a two brothers two separate parts worldwide Teutonic chain
Interesting business history
Does Aldi’s have a deli? Salads, sandwiches, soups, roasted meats?
I was, at one time almost 30 years ago, so broke that I had no choice but to shop at Aldi (pretty bad when I needed to find someplace cheaper than the commissary). The garbage they sold was so nasty that I wasn't sure it was fit for human consumption. The store was so filthy that I wouldn't have been surprised to bring silverfish into my house via the flour and cockroaches via the boxed goods -- literally the only time I've ever felt it necessary to inspect the boxes food came in...some had the telltale cockroach tracks on them.
The good Lord willing, that will be the last time I'm ever in a position to have to set foot in an Aldi.
I went into an Aldi’s in IL once and never again. The isles were junky, and the store was in disarray. I needed vanilla chips for baking and thought the price could not be beat. Well, you get what you pay for and the product was horrible. Sorry, back to Nestle’s Vanilla Chips for me.
That article was barely readable!
Aside from the over-the-top leftist crap, it appeared that she really tried hard to use those two semesters of “German for Beginners” that she took in college.
Yes, it’s a German grocery chain. We get it already.
Aldi stores are here in England where I live. A few items worth getting, but overall VERY poor service, and small selection of stock. They wouldn’t last 10 minutes in the US, they have no where near the quality goods of Trader Joes. Just. Don’t. Bother.
The American owned UNION chains?
Dominicks just folded and our Jewel Osco “union chain is next. Their prices are out of this world and their produce Sucks!
I don't buy meat, prepared frozen foods, coffee or bread, but canned goods and baking products, chips (they are awesome), milk, butter, eggs and produce are always fine. I've never run into a surly cashier (how many supermarkets put in the extra pennies for you if your bill is 4 cents over a dollar?) and the parking lot is not cluttered with carts that people just leave.
4 years ago I hated Aldi. Times change and so do the stores, they are better now.
Our grocery stores that are Unionized are SO expensive now and they are what I grew up with. Their prices are off the charts and every time I wander into one there is nobody in them, they are pretty much deserted!
Aldi is where we do the bulk of our shopping, with Walmart to fill in the gaps. We shop for ingredients rather thanks processed/prepared food, and we experience significant savings. We do get our meat and eggs from a local farmer. Aldi is now starting to carry some organic items, and their another items are usually free of MSG and hydrogenated oils. Other stores’ name brands and store brands usually contain these.
Then you ain’t gettin’ yo quarter back.
That may well be, but with the local stores being located in Langley Park (MS-13 HQ), Hyattsville, and Northeast DC, I am not exactly motivated to find out for myself. They are building an Aldi across the street from the Costco in Beltsville, but, again, it really has no fascination for me.
I do fine with the Commissary (veggies and staples), Wegman's (specialty stuff and deli), and Costco (bulk items, coffee(!!!), pies, and steaks), thank you very much.
Parking lot filled with top of the line BMW's, Mercedes , get the picture. Everyone loves a bargain.
In the UK one of the papers recently compared a Christmas basket from Harrods that cost over 10,000 pounds and the Aldi equivalent that cost under 500. Plus, reviews often put the quality of the Aldi offers ahead of the name brands.
I wonder if they will change the formula to suit the shoppers in the states.
They’re moving into Texas... mostly Houston right now, I think...
Been to one. Once. It was a new store open only a couple of months. Filthy. Disorganized. Poor selection. I wanted to buy a fresh pineapple that was on special but they didn’t have any. Brands are mostly brands you never heard of packaged to look like name brands, with the same colored labels. I guess it fools those with poor eyesight or non-English speakers. The only thing I picked up was a roll of aluminum foil. When I found out it was priced the same as Reynolds Wrap on sale but half the thickness, I put it back down and walked out. Maybe it was just a bad experience at that particular store. I won’t go back.
Thanks for posting! Didn’t know the two were connected. We’re fortunate enough to have both near our home. I prefer Trader Joe’s for the fruit and vegetables (Organic) and Aldi’s for pretty much everything else.
Love Aldi!
Staples and snacks, .28 cents for a can of iodized salt, .75 for celery, 1.49 for chips . . .
It is what is is, and has what it has. The BEST fresh market in my area has had the quarter-for-a-cart for 15 years. Never an issue. Aldi has it’s place among grocery stores. More power to ‘em.
Oh yeah, they are union-free too . . . Wooh hoo!
To each his own. We shop at the Aldi near Ft. Belvoir, and I see a lot of military families shopping there as well; they probably remember the Aldi's from when they were stationed in Germany.
Ours is very clean and the people are very nice. Check out is quick, and we bag our own groceries. Quality of their products is good! Prices are a lot lower, which is terrific for me, since I'm supporting seven people.
We also frequent Costco; they just opened a new one near us. When we want bulk, we go there.
Never been in an Aldi’s and there are several in the major cities around here.
Do they sell the same foreign produced foods as Walmart? Watch your labels, buy American and save the American farmers. So it cost you a few more bucks, at least it will keep the American farmers off the “un-employed” list.
Go there almost every week for paper products and canned goods....saves me about $20 each time...side benefit: no kid or jerk is going to let a cart go and ram your car in the parking lot.
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