Aldi?

[leechlake]

any experiences with Aldi?  The grand opening of one is near my house today.  Never been in one.  It's not very big which I like.  I hate having to go to the Target by my house for 2 cans of soup and walk 1/4 mile to get to it.  My only concern is that the traffic light by it allows 4 cars per green light going north across hwy 55 and the parking lot empties right there I'm guessing no thought was put into that but will be in the near future.

[RebelSS]

Not impressed. We have two down here. Strange, strange, brands....

Edited December 17, 2015 by RebelSS

[smurfy]

Not impressed. We have two down here. Strange, strange, brands.....

I have never been in one, my wife has and based on my wifes opinion I have to agree with reb. brands I have never heard of.

 

I did hear however they got decent meat!

[gunner55]

All their stores are on the small side There's 1 where my mom lives & we go there about every other trip out for groceries.There is a noticable difference in prices.

[BartmanMN]

You can save a lot of cash there.  Momma Cuzzi's pizza's are good.

[RebelSS]

Gotta agree with the low prices, but too scared to try some of the brands. Hate it when ya get something that just doesn't "taste right".  But, since I haven't tried their stuff, I can't say. I'll take Bartman's word on the pizza, though. 

Edited December 17, 2015 by RebelSS

[leechlake]

the place opened at 9am, line out the door.  Stop light coming out still allowing 4 cars per light, today 5th car was a cop and he ran the red light to get through the long unpill intersection (awesome when road is icy), genius engineering and thought on that one.

I see myself buying some staples there since it's close.  They do have Boar's brand polish sausage for 24.99 per pound, must be some delicacy?

[eyeguy 54]

kids like getting veggies and fruit there. no problems and nice pricing. 25 cents for a cart that is refundable, no visa and 10 cents for plastic bags I found out. lol   rookie aldis shopper here.

 

[nofishfisherman]

We have a couple close to us and have gone in from time to time.  They do carry different brands than other stores so it may take some experimentation to determine which brands are good and which are not.  Prices are noticeably lower so when you do find something you like you'll get a good price on it.  

There are a few quirks to know about.  1. They charge 25 cents to use a cart, not a big deal if you only have a few items to grab but I went in for the first time when it was just me and my then 1 year old daughter.  I didn't have a quarter so had to carry her plus carry all my groceries by hand.  Obviously opted not to buy much.  2. Bring your own bags.  I can't remember if they don't have them or if they charge for them.  Check what credit cards they accept.  I recall them not accepting some of the major cards.  Cash is king. 3. They don't have a huge selection of produce, they stick mainly to the staples but they do have a good price on what they do have.

Overall we rarely go.  Some of the quirks make it annoying to shop so we tend to stick to normal stores since they are just as close.

[Juneau4]

Milk and eggs are much cheaper. 

Most of the off Brands are made by the major companies for them. You can tell many times by the shape of container. (ketchup) What's the difference? The label.

[pushbutton]

The store is a great business model....big time buying power with limited selections on private label, non traditional bagging and carts, pay better for better employees that will be stocking the shelves one minute and then running the till the next ....make them very competitive. Pretty genius to charge for a bag, and then set out their empty boxes(that would otherwise cost them to remove)  for people to use instead. As for the food......ok.... fresh fruits and veggies do not hold well, the cheese barely melts, no way would I ever buy canned mushrooms made in china, the bakery products are far from fresh, and premium white tuna ain't so premium. It is a junk food paradise though. A little over a buck for chips and cookies, that would cost 2 or 3 times as much at even walmart. Like Bartman mentioned, frozen foods like pizza, chicken nuggets, ice cream are decent and dirt cheap. Great deals on proccessed deli meats as well...proccessed is proccessed....so if your gonna do ....why not do here. Their milk and butter is surprisingly good, and will buy some fresh meat once in a while. The local store here expanded and has a small but great priced organic section, and their "fit and active"private label has some healthier options. Also, they will have great buys on name brand stuff every once in a while, but a while supplies last type of gig. I mainly stop by  to buy true staples like flour, sugar,oil, milk, some condiments, ect....and then cherry pick anything else while wandering the aisles.

[Juneau4]

I wonder if they have different suppliers for different Geo locations? PB you mention mushrooms from China and all the canned ones we get here are either from France or Holland. I also have noticed different brands on other things in Alex. compared to here..

[pushbutton]

I cant even imagine what their logistics set up is like....bet pretty darn streamlined though. They sure punched walmart in the mouth ...... here anyway.

[RebelSS]

Best not pick up any of those mushrooms...  Did just finish reading national reviews on Aldi, and they received good reviews. I'm going to give them a try for some fruits and veggies.. Except for the mushrooms, of course. 

News:

China has halted canned mushroom exports

Print

 

Text size+–

Chinese Inspection and Quarantine Services are reported to have banned all exports of canned mushrooms to the US indefinitely after a number of shipments were rejected due to pesticide contamination. Dutch mushroom canners have seen a distinct uptick in business as a consequence, but there are concerns that some buyers have simply been put off canned mushrooms, regardless of origin.
 

Throughout September, the US refused ten shipments of canned mushrooms from China, all on grounds of pesticide contamination. China has now stopped all exports of canned mushrooms to the US until the problems can be resolved. “The China Inspection and Quarantine Services are investigating and consulting with the factories and farmers, but it is very difficult to control,” the exporter said. A European trader thought the ban could take some time to overcome, stating that new inspections usually come after a year or two. However, the Chinese exporter was more optimistic: “For the new crop we will find a way, though. The big packers have integrated production.”

 

Edited December 17, 2015 by RebelSS

[smurfy]

I just wish st cloud could get a COSCO!!!!!!!!

[pushbutton]

Yep....

[leechlake]

I have two unsafe non fears in life.  

1.  lightning- I should be more cautious about it but am not.  Once we were stuck on LOTW and the 8 miles back to the resort was into the storm so we decided to stay put.   Lightning struck so close to the boat that I claimed I ducked out of the way.

2.  contaminated food- I eat raw fish, tiger meat, rare steak.  It may get me some day and I should raise the bar a bit on my concern.  I do wash my hands a lot when I cook though, odd combo.

[nofishfisherman]

I just wish st cloud could get a COSCO!!!!!!!!

Costco is nice to have around.  They have really good meat and the price per pound is good if you don't mind repackaging it in small batches for later use.  That's what I do.  I'll get a big pack of chops or something and then repackaged them in packs of 2 or 4 and then freeze them.  Also nice if you want to get a some big racks of spare ribs or large pork shoulder.  I usually cut the pork shoulders into 1/4's so I have 4 smaller chunks that I can smoke or grind to mix in with my venison. 

The real trick though is finding a way to get out of Costco without going to buy a slice or two of pizza on the way out.  If I go with my daughter its pretty much a guarantee we are getting pizza for lunch before we head home.

[leech~~]

any experiences with Aldi?  The grand opening of one is near my house today. 

Yeah, bring your own bags. The one by our house does not give out bags! Ok once you know, but the first time your there you have a cart full of dump and no way to carry it out!

[Juneau4]

I have two unsafe non fears in life.  

1.  lightning- I should be more cautious about it but am not.  Once we were stuck on LOTW and the 8 miles back to the resort was into the storm so we decided to stay put.   Lightning struck so close to the boat that I claimed I ducked out of the way.

2.  contaminated food- I eat raw fish, tiger meat, rare steak.  It may get me some day and I should raise the bar a bit on my concern.  I do wash my hands a lot when I cook though, odd combo.

You're probably going to die from something totally unrelated to food. Over the years from what you eat, Your immunity is off the charts. When you cook for others wash your hands, you can't get their immune system equal to yours immediately. 

I hope it's Old Age. I didn't say Ancient Age. 

[smurfy]

I have two unsafe non fears in life.  

1.  lightning- I should be more cautious about it but am not.  Once we were stuck on LOTW and the 8 miles back to the resort was into the storm so we decided to stay put.   Lightning struck so close to the boat that I claimed I ducked out of the way.

2.  contaminated food- I eat raw fish, tiger meat, rare steak.  It may get me some day and I should raise the bar a bit on my concern.  I do wash my hands a lot when I cook though, odd combo.

aren't you forgetting one????? posting in the cooking forum with boar??????????

[leechlake]

aren't you forgetting one????? posting in the cooking forum with boar??????????

Boar's best selling diet book simply called "Spaghetti"?  Oprah lost 40 pounds on it in just over a month but she broke some teeth along the way.  Boar has kids so I'm guessing he makes safe food, we all care about our kids more than ourselves...at least most of the time.   

[ThunderLund78]

Once you're used to their set-up, ALDI is AWESOME.  To clarify, you don't pay a quarter to use the cart, you get your quarter back when the cart is returned - you essentially use your quarter like a key.  I'm not sure how this is advantageous (how many people walk off with carts?  and how does a quarter in collateral really prevent someone who wants to steal a shopping cart from doing so?).  Anyway, my wife keeps her "ALDI" quarter in the drink holder in her car.  I tried to use it once at a drive-threw or something and she flipped her lid.

But we love ALDI.  If you're feeding a family on a budget, you can't beat it.  You wont see the variety in meat and produce compared to Wal-mart, Target or Cub, but the do have a good selection.  While their brands aren't always recognizable, they're often BETTER than the major retailer generic brands. We shop there more than anywhere else.  Once you see the savings, you'll be hooked!

ALDI and Trader Joes were started by the same family - two brothers, I believe.

[RebelSS]

Thunderlund is absolutely right...Aldi Nord owns the TJ's....I Love my TJ's! Still gonna try that Aldi,maybe later today....

[Juneau4]

Once you're used to their set-up, ALDI is AWESOME.  To clarify, you don't pay a quarter to use the cart, you get your quarter back when the cart is returned - you essentially use your quarter like a key.  I'm not sure how this is advantageous (how many people walk off with carts?  and how does a quarter in collateral really prevent someone who wants to steal a shopping cart from doing so?).  Anyway, my wife keeps her "ALDI" quarter in the drink holder in her car.  I tried to use it once at a drive-threw or something and she flipped her lid.

But we love ALDI.  If you're feeding a family on a budget, you can't beat it.  You wont see the variety in meat and produce compared to Wal-mart, Target or Cub, but the do have a good selection.  While their brands aren't always recognizable, they're often BETTER than the major retailer generic brands. We shop there more than anywhere else.  Once you see the savings, you'll be hooked!

ALDI and Trader Joes were started by the same family - two brothers, I believe.

No one walks off with carts, so they don't have to hire some one to return them. (Funny what some one will do for a quarter.)

It is a great place to buy, if your not into the social status mode.

It's a place for low and lower middle income people to buy groceries and for some who don't care about being a status symbol.

Edited December 17, 2015 by Juneau4