Oh. Cool things I’ve gotten from the Aldi “random” aisle: a canvas cargo top for our minivan ($20) that lasted a few vacations, a really decent digital drawing tablet (!), a toy shelf with multiple bins that was just what we needed, and woolly socks that I’ve had for a decade.
I’ve only ever seen one, a bit over an hour from here, and it’s really small. I mean less than 2,500sq feet small. So of course the selection is small too. They do have some neat stuff, though. And milk for $1.50 a gallon. I’ve never seen bedding, but they do have an aisle of random things running right through the center of the store. Since people have sang the praises of their chocolate, maybe I’ll pick some up next time.
The only thing that surprised me is the bag your own groceries thing. Perhaps mostly because I’ve never gone grocery shopping while traveling to other parts of the country, I have never in my life been anywhere else that you were expected to bag things (and God, you really want to upset a cashier, just try to) so that was unexpected. Not bothersome, just totally alien to how every other store in the northeast does things. Now, cart rental, though unusual, is something that does exist here elsewhere.
If you wait for someone else to bag your shopping outside America you will wait a long time.
Even longer when you use one of those self-serving machines.
Unlikely that it was less than 2,500 sq. ft.
Aldi stores are typically 16,500 sq. ft., with a 10,000 sq. ft. sales area.
The one single thing I like best about Aldi (and Lidl) is - and say this as a male who supermarket shops twice a week - the size: it is not so impossibly large you lose heart just walking into the hanger. Aldi and Lidy are perfectly formed in size and content 
The second best thing about both stores is the Random Aisle - you have no idea what they’ll be selling this time but you have to take a look. Anything and everything from childrens riding hats (for horses) to some specialised metalworking tools.
Prices are good, produce is fresh, staff are decently paid and treated well. That’s good enough for me.
Very true - I don’t need two dozen different brands of raisin brand - ALDI has the major brand and their Millville one, and it’s perfectly fine, and a lot less expensive. As I mentioned earlier, some of their stuff is mediocre - their clam chowder is terrible, thin and has no detectable pieces of clam.
I’ve learned to never buy the canned soups. Possibly the only thing I’ve ever gotten from Aldi that was just plain horrid.
Gosh I wish they would come to CO. I have no idea what we have done to offend them.
My only caveat is to avoid the canned tuna. I swear they use fish that have died of old age. The tuna meat is dry and tasteless. I have never been dissatisfied with any other Aldi purchase.
Actually, their “Chef’s Cupboard” Chunky Beef With Country Vegetables is quite decent. But it took a bit of searching to find one that was good.
I wasn’t a fan initially but I’ve gradually become an Aldi’s convert. You can get what you need and the price is cheaper. I agree with others that if you want variety, then you would be better off going to a labyrinthine mega mart and not Aldi’s, but my needs are usually basic.
I would not say horrid, but whatever company they use for soups should be replaced. It’s subpar compared to their other brands.
Aldi opened in my town bout six months ago and I’ve been very happy. It’s a lot better than Save-a-Lot,the other small-scaled discount grocery store in town, which I now only go to for bulk meat specials and Goya/Hispanic products. Best place for staples like milk and eggs, but produce is limited and can be of spotty quality, and I don’t think much of the meat or seafood. You can get things there, usually the there-and-gone specials or seasonals that you’d have to pay fancy gourmet item prices to get at a regular grocery.
If you’re there just to pick up one or two things, you can navigate and store and find them fast, but you are unlikely to get out of the store quickly as Aldi has no express checkout and has lines of customers with wagons piled high.
Since an Aldi opened here within the last year, we’ve been very happy with it. Many items are almost irrationally cheap, generally boxed and canned items are like this. I love the fact that it’s 90% house brand items. I truly don’t need 4 different brands of plain potato chips, and 3 brands of cookies and white flour. I also find the quality of food very solid. The only items that stand out as not being my favorite is the cream cheese and the beef. Ground beef and stew beef is ok, but if I want a steak, Aldi isn’t where I’m going to go.
It does take a bit longer for the checkout / bagging than a regular store, but I love how efficiently they’ve setup their system to get customers through fairly quickly with carts piled high. They’ll have 2 lanes open at times when other stores would need 4-6, and still get customers out without a long wait.
Yeah, they actually put a priority on checkout speed. The cashiers are trained for it, and all of their products have about a third of their surface area covered in barcode, so you can scan them quickly in any orientation.
You need to try their seasonal Caramel Apple Pie Ice Cream.
I don’t usually buy steak at Aldi, but a couple weeks ago they had a beautiful choice ribeye at $2 off, so it was something like $5 for a 12 oz steak. The only reason I bought it is because out of the four ribeyes they had left, it just looked gorgeous with the marbling–practically a prime steak. And it was fantastic. I was pleasantly surprised. Costco is my usual steak place, but, at least this one particular Aldi ribeye I had, was every bit as good. My sample size is very low, though, as that was the only time I’ve bought steak there.
The rest of the time, though, I go to my local grocery for ground beef and stewing beef, as it’s usually cheaper than Aldi. Steaks at that particularly supermarket suck though, so if for some reason it comes up in the future I really want a steak now and don’t feel like traveling several miles to the Costco, Aldi is a viable option.
I just had their Chunky Chicken Noodle soup today, and it was actually quite good. It had thick, curly noodles noodles and a reasonable amount of chicken. A lot of carrots, which I presume are fairly cheap filler.
Whaaat?!? I shop Aldi, Harris-Teeter, Food Lion, Costco, and Kroger on a regular basis. If I thought I could save 2/3 by buying at Aldi, I’d be setting up my own roadside stand to resell Aldi products right next to Kroger. Aldi saves me a bit, but not 67 cents on the dollar. I MIGHT save $5-$8 buying the same $100 worth of products at Aldi, but even that would be pushing it. Please get real.