Aldi is coming to South Florida

[MichaelB]

All right! Aldi is coming to South Florida.

South Floridians now have more options for grocery shopping and at lower prices, too.

That's the message German discount grocery chain ALDI hopes to spread as it prepares to open its first South Florida stores in Deerfield Beach and Lauderdale Lakes on Thursday.

It's good to be getting more competition and variety.

 

[Rustward]

I don't mind the fact that they take a $.25 deposit for using their shopping cart, but they don't take credit cards. They moved into this area a few months ago, but we have not been there yet.

 

[Moemg]

We just got one and so far I am underwhelmed . It's okay but I still like Publix and Albertson's a lot better .

 

[MichaelB]

Well, more choice and competition means better pricing and variety, which we enjoy. DW grew up in a culture where you food shopped frequently (almost daily), so she really appreciates and takes advantage of more alternatives.

Of the new options in South FL we like Greenwise the most. It is giving Whole Foods a run for their money in grocery, produce and ready to eat.

 

[martyb]

My first experience with Aldi was in 2008 when we moved to Wisconsin. I guess we went there 2 or 3 times. It was ok, but not enough to keep us coming back. Now, I think there's one in my hometown in NC.

 

[Texas Proud]

We just got one and so far I am underwhelmed . It's okay but I still like Publix and Albertson's a lot better .

Makes me think that they would be a big bust here....

Albertson's came and tried... and got run out of town.. their prices were not competative at all.... and if they are better... well....

 

[martyb]

Makes me think that they would be a big bust here....

Albertson's came and tried... and got run out of town.. their prices were not competative at all.... and if they are better... well....

Well...who could compete with H.E.B. ? Wonder if Aldi's will sell Bluebell Ice Cream? If not, they definitely can't stay in Texas...

 

[martyb]

I don't mind the fact that they take a $.25 deposit for using their shopping cart, but they don't take credit cards. They moved into this area a few months ago, but we have not been there yet.

Seems like I remember that they don't have sacks for you to carry your goceries in? If I'm remembering correctly, you have to bring your own sacks or boxes...something like that.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Aldi's is just like Trader Joe's but cheaper and not organic-oriented (and Aldi's now owns Trader Joe's). They both sell their own brands almost exclusively, but Aldi's is a good 30 percent cheaper than the big chain's. We always shop there for the basics and have a lot of fun with it (for example, we have what we call "I can't believe it's not "I can't believe it's not butter"" in our refrigerator).

The other nice thing about an Aldi coming into town is that you might see the competing stores start lowering prices, as they have in our area.

You can pay a nickel for an Aldi bag; we keep fabric bags in our trunk for both Whole Foods (which credits you a dime for not needing a bag) and for Aldi. You can also use Aldi's empty boxes for free, just like Costco.

 

[jazz4cash]

Big fan of Aldi's here. Good products. Cheap Prices....No Frills, well minimal frills. When I first started going there in Indiana in, their stores were located in the old stores vacated by Safeway because they were too small. Cashiers used adding machines and had to memorize every price. That was in the 90's. At the time, out budget was tight with 5 mouths to feed and it was great. I nearly fell over when I saw brand new stores they were building in Maryland. I go there infrequently now and spend whatever cash I have because I keep forgetting they now take debit cards...dunno about credit. Definitely a LBYM kinda place.

 

[jimnjana]

We like ALDI's for the basics, much cheaper than the grocery stores.

 

[easysurfer]

Sometimes, they sell nice non-grocery items. I just finished helping a friend's neighbor blow/vac and mulch leaves from the blower/vac/mulcher bought from Aldi. A good price (about $35) and got the job done.

I'm tired now...need some ice tea

 

[easysurfer]

Seems like I remember that they don't have sacks for you to carry your goceries in? If I'm remembering correctly, you have to bring your own sacks or boxes...something like that.

Yeah... the first time I went to one, I was surprised there was no bagger. I was going...WT*#%?

They do sell bags you at the store. But I end up bringing my own bags -- a nickel or dime or saved..a nickle or dime earned

 

[Texas Proud]

Yeah... the first time I went to one, I was surprised there was no bagger. I was going...WT*#%?

They do sell bags you at the store. But I end up bringing my own bags -- a nickel or dime or saved..a nickle or dime earned

I remember when I was in London.... the checkers are sitting down (why do they have to stand here)... I was used to bagging as I used to do it when I was young... but I looked around and did not see anybody there to bag.. and the checker just sat there after she finished ringing up your stuff... you also got used to carrying your shoulder bag because you never knew when you were going to duck in a store...

IIRC, Alberson's did not bag... they just pushed your groceries to one side (or was it a round turntable) and started checking out the next person... but I could be wrong..

 

[MichaelB]

Grocery bags are not a problem for us. We shop at Costco and have lots of Whole Foods reusable bags in the car. We like Trader Joes as well. I expect this to be a net plus.

 

[mn54]

We have both Aldi and Trader Joe's here and we definitely go to Trader Joe's more. Nicer stores, better selection, better quality. Aldi is less expensive. In both, you never know what they are going to have in stock. You might find something you like one time and the next time you go, they no longer carry it.

 

[RonBoyd]

We had Smartco move into the Denver area. I was, at first, very skeptical -- they (mostly) moved into the abandoned Albertson's locations). I have since changed my mind. Their prices are lower (on the things we buy) than Wal Mart and Safeway. In addition, (and more importantly, actually) their fresh fruit & vegetable section is better than Wal Mart's -- which is hard to beat.

I like H.E.B. and we were, last month, in a very large Safeway store in the D.C. area that was quite impressive but they are not immune to a good competitor.

 

[Glo]

We buy lots of staples at Aldi's; you can't beat the prices. The stores here are small, clean, and they have friendly employees. I take everything in a shopping cart to our truck and load the stuff into boxes; very easy.

 

[ziggy29]

Albertson's came and tried... and got run out of town.. their prices were not competative at all.... and if they are better... well....

Yep. I seem to recall they bought out another chain that was located in Texas, and they more or less got mauled by HEB. And then, as it turned out, several of the locations Albertson's was going to close were purchased by HEB...

I also don't know how Randall's (owned by Safeway) is surviving, either; except for the stuff on sale with a rewards card they are not remotely close to price-competitive with HEB. And I never see many people in a Randall's store compared to a typical HEB.

In California, Albertson's bought out the old Lucky supermarkets a while back (I believe the Lucky brand was recently resurrected.) Once they converted the Lucky stores to the Albertson's name, we called it "Albertsucky."

 

[W2R]

No Albertson's here (they tried and failed), and no HEB, Randall's, Kroger, Lucky, Aldi's, Safeway, Trader Joe's, etc. here.

Actually the only national chain we have here that I can think of, is Winn-Dixie, other than Super-Walmart which is always jammed with humanity and miserable, with no parking spaces left at all in their parking lot much of the time. Oh, and also we have a Whole Foods.

We have local chains and local non-chain grocery stores.

 

[RonBoyd]

... other than Super-Walmart which is always jammed with humanity and miserable, with no parking spaces left at all in their parking lot much of the time.

"Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded." --Yogi Berra

 

[RonBoyd]

YouTube - Grocery Store Wars

 

[RonBoyd]

Well, again, I should have kept my big mouth shut:

SmartCo Foods to close all Colorado stores after just a few months

SmartCo Foods opened in Colorado earlier this year, and now all five of its grocery stores in the state will close in December because of “disappointing sales,” according to the retailer.

 

[BigNick]

The stores here are small, clean, and they have friendly employees.

A little-known fact about Aldi is that they pay their staff really well, at least in Europe. I'm told that new store managers in the UK start on $60K+, and I remember seeing a Help Wanted ad in a store in Germany where they were paying well over double minimum wage for checkout workers. (This was before they adopted barcodes; the checkout staff were expected to know the price of every item in the store. It's a no-frills place with a limited selection, but even so, that's a lot to remember.)