Plus their bags are much better than any other supermarket’s bags that I’ve seen. They’re extremely durable and large to boot.
I did think it was a bit creepy. I had never heard of Aldi stores when they built one on University Ave. in St. Paul, and I thought it was strange that you can’t even tell what they sell unless you already know (unlike Rainbow Foods, Cub Foods, Kowalski’s Market, etc.).
My boyfriend heard that you could find good deals on groceries there, so we stopped in. The atmosphere is definitely strange. I didn’t hate it as much as I hate Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club, maybe because it’s much smaller. In general, I think it’s a really good idea. It’s great that they stock affordable produce (even though I was wary of it - kind of gave me the same feeling as buying any food items from a dollar store).
The checkout process was unpleasant (super long lines), but I like the bring-your-own-bags policy.
You call the midday meal dinner? Interesting—I thought it was only a rural U.S. thing.
We don’t have Aldi’s here, but they sound bleak. Cheap store that sells good stuff…good. Cheap store that just sells poor quality, off-brand crap cheaply–bad.
You don’t live in a small enough town apparently.
Our Aldi is just across the street from Hy Vee.
I am often surprised to see Long time Hy Vee employees comparison shopping at Aldi.
Aldi doesn’t exist in my neck of the woods. But then again, we’re one of the last areas of the country to have a Super Wally World. so I shouldn’t be surprised.
From everyone’s description, I’m picturing a gargantuan warehouse-y type place sort of like Ikea. Is that an apt description?
Since I last posted to this thread, I’ve been to my local Aldi’s twice. I did try their Christmas stollen, and it was good, btw. 
Like I said, some of their stuff is pretty good. They do have a bizarre check-out procedure, though. While in line to check out, right by the freezer section, I saw a guy reach for some of those frozen fruit bars. I would have warned him from the lime-pineapple ones, but he took a box of strawberry instead. I -hope- they taste better than those nasty lime-pineapple ones! 
My Aldi is very close by - about 3 blocks; it is also a newly built site. It does very much resemble a warehouse inside–stuff piled floor to ceiling practically, and in the center of the store are all kinds of items that are not food related, from clothing to blankets to small appliances. I didn’t get a very close look at them because a store employee had an entire pallet out in one of the aisles that she was unloading. To get a cart at the Aldi, you have to insert a quarter, which you get back when you return the cart. The check-out procedure … how to describe this!? You load your purchases on the belt, the cashier rings them up, and then dumps them into the cart of the customer in front of you! So your cart will be used by the customer behind you. Then you must quickly get whatever you’ve got in your cart out, and then move out of the way to actually bag your purchases yourself.
One thing I have noticed, and not just in Aldi, but in other groceries and stores, is the number of kids who seem to be running amuk. I was almost blindsided last week in Safeway, and while at Aldi the other day, two small kids pushed into me from behind and just kept going. I looked around for parents and to be honest, didn’t see any indication that anyone was paying attention to what these kids were doing. And store employees seem unable to speak up about it. I realize it’s impossible to keep track of your kids every minute but when they’re running up and down aisles in the store, that’s a bit out of control, imho.
I think our Aldi’s is kinda creepy (and it does have a weird '70s feel, that’s a good point), but it’s not as bad as Wal*Mart.
I really hate disorganized stores - I remember when Shopko in Madison went through a huge renovation and messed everything up. We flat out quit going there. Menards gets on my nerves for the same reason, buncha clutter everywhere, I’ll never go back there. Costco moves the frickin diapers every month or two, it’s as much a scavenger hunt as shopping trip.
However, I will say this for Aldi - their Burlwood wines ($3.40) ain’t half bad. Got 6 of them in the cupboard right now. Cheers!
Not in my experience. They’re the size of, or smaller than, a good-sized neighborhood grocery store (not supermarket). Shelves are maybe 4-5 feet high, the produce section is smaller than a pool table. Only one brand of each item, for the most part, and don’t expect a huge selection - though the most interesting variety seems to be in the freezer section. I’ve found good-priced Cornish hens and mushroom ravioli, among other things, the times I’ve gone there. Like most warehouse stores, don’t expect those “odd” items to always be there upon return trips.
Not gargantuan at all; see Ferret Herder’s reply. HeyHomie described the layout of an Aldi’s in the OP of this old thread.
Basically, they seem to be designed for maximum no-frills efficiency: optimum use of what little space, money, employee manpower, etc. is available, so that you’re not paying for more than you have to. (Hence the nonstandard checkout procedure, which allows a long line of people with overloaded shopping carts to check out much faster than you might expect even when there’s only one cashier on duty.)
I know it’s weak to complain about junk food, but when I was in high school, my parents used to go to Aldi for Buffalo Bill’s potato chips and Tombstone pizza. I can’t stomach either of those, so I just had to do without. Well, I sometimes bought my own chips. Anyway, Tombstone is not unique to Aldi’s, but I think Buffalo Bill’s is, so we had bales of that crap.
I bought eggs from Aldi (first time), opened them and found a bible verse printed on the inside lid. That creeps me out.
This is not an Aldi thing. The brand of eggs from my grocery store also has this.
In Stalinist Russia, TV follows YOU!