# In praise of Aldi’s Grocery Stores **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 14, 2020, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-aldi-s-grocery-stores/920578 "2020-09-14T14:55:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-aldi-s-grocery-stores/920578/81 "2020-09-20T00:06:53Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > On the flip side, I once bought a bottle of holiday “chocolate wine” from them that was one of the worst things I’ve ever had. It tasted like someone dumped a package of Swiss Miss into a bottle of MD 20/20 and shook. Everybody’s “chocolate wine” is probably going to be the same quality as everyone’s “skittlebrau”. I mean, maybe there’s someone mixing fine sake and and artisan Yoo-Hoo, but I’m not sure that it’s going to be any better than what you got from Aldi. Ok, now that I think of that made with some really good, thick, sweet sake, I think that might be good. Just as a novelty. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-aldi-s-grocery-stores/920578/82 "2020-09-20T01:38:43Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Last time I bought milk it was $2.39 for a gallon. When I was in Aldi’s over the weekend they their gallon of milk was $2.99. I just returned home from Aldi. 2% and skim were $2 and whole milk was $2.49/gal. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-aldi-s-grocery-stores/920578/83 "2020-09-20T02:19:37Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I just returned home from Aldi. 2% and skim were $2 and whole milk was $2.49/gal. Wow, that’s rough. How much are eggs if you saw? 65 cents here, but have gone as low as 49 cents. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-aldi-s-grocery-stores/920578/84 "2020-09-20T05:02:32Z")
Yes, that Brenner tea finally persuaded me that hot tea was more than just tinted water. When big brands like Coke products and a few others began to show up at Aldi a couple of years ago, my assumption was not that Aldi brought them in to be one-stop shopping—but that those brands were seeing enough patronage now diverted to Aldi stores that they wanted to be there to maintain market share. They either cut prices low enough or paid shelving fees sufficient that Aldi would agree to have them in the store. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-aldi-s-grocery-stores/920578/85 "2020-09-20T07:19:23Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Wow, that’s rough. How much are eggs if you saw? 65 cents here, but have gone as low as 49 cents. 49 cents? Must be nice. I just paid **$3 for a dozen!!** But… …that was at a corner deli/grocer in downtown San Francisco. Prices here are gonna run just a teensy bit higher than the average American grocery supermarket (and because I’m in a food-ghetto, higher than anywhere else in SF). ---
**Author:** ![Deanna\_D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e495f1/32.png) [@Deanna\_D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deanna_D)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-aldi-s-grocery-stores/920578/86 "2020-09-20T11:25:02Z")
I just bought eggs at Aldi yesterday. A whopping 52 cents. 🙂 I absolutely love Aldi, and have converted a few friends and family members as well. I can get most of what I need there, but do occasionally have to run into another store for an odd item. Also, I’m not sure if this is happening at other Aldi stores, but I think some shoppers are making it a point to buy out the entire stock of items they especially like. I’m seeing this with some of the Aldi finds…if you don’t get there on Wednesday when the new stock comes in, you won’t find any. Oddly enough, this is also happening with the peanut butter cups as well. It’s a regular item, but all I ever see anymore is the empty shelf where the pb cups should be. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-aldi-s-grocery-stores/920578/87 "2020-09-21T03:35:38Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > 49 cents? Must be nice. I just paid **$3 for a dozen!!** I caught the very end of something on NPR the other day about a lawsuit for price gouging on eggs. I don’t think we’ve ever paid even $1 for a dozen at Aldi. > [@Deanna\_D](#): > > Also, I’m not sure if this is happening at other Aldi stores, but I think some shoppers are making it a point to buy out the entire stock of items they especially like. I’m seeing this with some of the Aldi finds…if you don’t get there on Wednesday when the new stock comes in, you won’t find any. > > Oddly enough, this is also happening with the peanut butter cups as well. It’s a regular item, but all I ever see anymore is the empty shelf where the pb cups should be. They put limits on staples here—meat, TP, etc. Some of the special stuff they advertise simply didn’t come in at times since COVID. A cashier said it was a supply problem. PB cups are a cult favorite with some of the Facebook groups. The standard joke was to save a package from something kids don’t like, such as frozen broccoli, and hide the whole package of PB cups in it, then put it in the back of the freezer, so the kids wouldn’t eat them all. Also IIRC the brownie batter hummus, the fruity wines (watermelon, pineapple, peach) and mimosas are also big. A shame factor may kick in to prevent buying copious amounts of alcohol, however. One FB poster was talking about how her kids would rename Aldi products to reflect the lower price tags. The Aldi imitation of Doritos were dubbed “Poor-itos,” etc. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-aldi-s-grocery-stores/920578/88 "2020-09-21T11:23:43Z")
Does Lidl have any penetration in the US market? They fit the same category as Aldi (and are also German). My Dad swears by Lidl, mainly because they sell frozen lobster as what he regards as a very cheap price. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-aldi-s-grocery-stores/920578/89 "2020-09-21T11:41:27Z")
On the store locator for Lidi , looks like they are mostly on the East coast. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-aldi-s-grocery-stores/920578/90 "2020-09-21T12:21:34Z")
In a bit more detail, they’re in the actual coastal states from NYC south to about Atlanta. No coast = no store. See [Grocery Store | Low Prices | Lidl US](https://www.lidl.com/stores) ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-aldi-s-grocery-stores/920578/91 "2020-09-21T15:58:51Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Yeah. They’re like the Big Lots of grocery stores. It’s not a bad thing, but it’s also not always great. Exactly. Fine if you’re looking to see if there’s anything unusual, but awful if it turns out that you actually LIKE that discontinued item, and Big Lots had the last of it. That was mostly my complaint- I’d find a type of yogurt, sausage, cheese, beer, lunch meat, cookie, etc… and then it would be discontinued, never to return. Or maybe if I’m lucky, at some future point that I won’t know about ahead of time. FWIW, those are all categories in which I found stuff that I liked, that they subsequently discontinued the items I liked. And sometimes I get skeptical/suspicious how Aldi can have dramatically cheaper prices on things like milk, when it’s essentially an agricultural commodity, and other huge chains like Wal-Mart and Kroger almost certainly don’t have a large markup either. I start wondering HOW are they providing such cheap milk? Is it like Grade A instead of AA, or whatever? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-aldi-s-grocery-stores/920578/92 "2020-09-21T16:10:20Z")
Lidl is very similar but better, it’s cleaner for 1 thing. ---
**Author:** ![PlaceboTarget](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/placebotarget/32/1073_2.png) [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-aldi-s-grocery-stores/920578/93 "2020-09-21T16:18:54Z")
I do my shopping at Lidl, Megaimage, and a less known grocery store. I also live right next to a vegetable and meat market, where numerous farmers or small traders operate. When I want to shop at a larger store, I go to Kaufland, which belongs to The Schwarz Group, like Lidl. ---
**Author:** ![PlaceboTarget](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/placebotarget/32/1073_2.png) [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-aldi-s-grocery-stores/920578/94 "2020-09-21T16:28:55Z")
Here’s an image from a Lidl shop in Bucharest: [![](https://modernbuyer.ro/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Inaugurare-magazin-Bucuresti_3.jpg) ](https://modernbuyer.ro/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Inaugurare-magazin-Bucuresti_3.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![PlaceboTarget](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/placebotarget/32/1073_2.png) [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-aldi-s-grocery-stores/920578/95 "2020-09-21T16:37:24Z")
And here’s a map with their presence in Europe: [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Lidl_Stores_2018.png/440px-Lidl_Stores_2018.png) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Lidl_Stores_2018.png/440px-Lidl_Stores_2018.png) ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-aldi-s-grocery-stores/920578/96 "2020-09-21T17:00:28Z")
Both the Aldis we go to are clean and well organized. One was just remodeled. It’s huge. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-aldi-s-grocery-stores/920578/97 "2020-09-22T21:25:32Z")
> [@](#): > > Lidl began opening U.S. stores in June 2017, with the first of what the company said would be 20 locations in Virginia and the Carolinas by the summer’s end and up to 100 stores on the East Coast by the summer of 2018. But in the months after Lidl’s U.S. debut, news reports said the company was scaling back its expansion plans, well short of the 100-unit target it had set. > [@](#): > > The hiccup led Lidl to fine-tune its U.S. promotional strategy to better match the shopping habits of American consumers, as well as to retool its U.S. real estate strategy to include smaller stores and leased sites, instead of just build-and-own locations. As I recall, it was around that time that US grocery shoppers started using curbside delivery, instacart, whatever. Maybe it was a coincidence but I wonder if Lidl decided to dip a toe in the water instead of performing the cannonball. [https://www.supermarketnews.com/retail-financial/lidl-us-chairman-roman-heini-exits-company](https://www.supermarketnews.com/retail-financial/lidl-us-chairman-roman-heini-exits-company) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-aldi-s-grocery-stores/920578.md?page=4)