Aldi

This is my first Unilocal review. Yay! I always consult Unilocal when I need it and now I feel it’s time for me to give back.
I am an Aldi fan and have been shopping here for at least 5 years (not just this location specifically.) It is definitely a no frills store but I don’t need or want frills. I compare it to a Sam’s Club but on a smaller scale. It just has a warehouse feel. The prices are awesome for your basic grocery needs. It doesn’t have everything like other mainstream grocery stores in the area but you can’t beat Aldi’s prices. I just supplement with another low cost grocer when I can’t find what I need at Aldi. The customer service at the many Aldi stores I have frequented is pretty good. The cashiers for the most part are friendly but there have been a few exceptions.
They also sell specialty items like German foods and they sell some household goods. For instance, I found a large cutting board there for a great price. I bought a few small appliances there (food chopper and waffle iron) for a good price. The appliances work well. I must mention that they sell these toffee cookies that are absolutely to die for. When I get the taste for toffee cookies, it’s either Aldi or Panera Bread.
Like others have mentioned a quarter is needed for the grocery cart and you have to bring you own bags. You can purchase bags there if you don’t have any or you can use the empty boxes that they sometimes have on the shelves. You have to bag your own groceries and they only accept cash and debit cards. None of this I have found to be a problem for me. I just wish they had self checkout:)
So some specifics for this location. It is one of the reasons for me deducting a star. The area where this Aldi is located is a bit sketchy, but not to the point where I feel uncomfortable. I wish they could keep it cleaner on the outside (this is just a pet peeve of mine as I am a bit of a clean freak.) I have seen people just drop cigarette buts and other litter on the ground on the outside. Uggh, I can’t stand this! Also there are people that hang around the outside of the store (maybe homeless people, not sure) and I have seen them approach customers. Maybe a no loitering policy should be implemented. This location is also a little more crowded than other locations I have visited. I prefer the quieter locations but this one is close to where I live.
One other (minor) downside of Aldi and another reason for the star deduction is some things that I like to purchase are not always there. For instance, I like their crock-​pot bags because the price is great but I am not always able to find them. I am thinking it may be seasonal. Also they were selling pearl couscous for a great price but I don’t see that anymore. So if you happen to see a rare item that you like, you might want to stock up because they may not always sell it.
Well that’s all folks. I hope this was helpful and thanks for reading my first Unilocal review!

Decent Aldi. Isles seem to be a bit narrow. Great variety of products. Lines were long but it was towards the end of the night and they did end up opening a 3^rd lane. Will definitely be back

Great prices, great quality, save ½! What could be better? Everything I have tried has been in the same level or above the national brand. Great buys on canned goods, cereal, milk, cheeses, yogurt, etc.

If you are looking for a pretty grocery store, Aldi may not be your cup of tea. It’s just a bare bones store with neatly stocked shelves.
Aldi focuses on mainstream grocery items, so you may not be able to fulfill everything on your weekly shopping list.
I don’t mind renting a shopping cart for 25 cents and bringing bags to package my Aldi purchases.
And, it would sure be nice if Aldi accepted credit cards.

Not as clean as i like but it was ok for what I needed and that was a box of trash bags
What I love most about all of these is that they have the exact same kind of glad trash bags for three dollars compared to the 899 you would pay for the regular ones
The fruit is a lot cheaper and the exact same that you would get at Safeway or giant so even when they even have organic bananas as well as frozen organic fruit for my smoothies at a great price

OK, for those who know anything about Aldi — I wil do a short recap and score for Aldi in general… then the store.
In General — 5 stars
Aldi RULES!
Get all the staple products you get at Giant, Whole Foods, Harris Teeter, Safeway etc — and save probably half the money. No joke — it is legit. They are owned by the same German family who owns Trader Joes, and the store carries 90% of the products under their private label – (As Trader Joe does too). This is partly how they save money, b/​c not paying for Kraft, Green Giant, etc’s advertising.
Prices are unbeatable on Fruit, Vegetables, milk, cheese, yogurt, juices, cereal, soup, bread, pasta, laundry detergent, soap, papertowls, and on and on – same quality and save a TON! They have beer, wine, fresh fruits /​veggies, hummus, fresh cut meats, pasta, etc. So while a small footprint and limited items, the 1,000 or so items they carry do about 80% of what I need for a week.
Need to Know —
* Only take debit cards or cash. No visa, so much know that.
* Need a quarter for the cart — don’t worry you get it back. The reason is so they don’t lose carts, but more importantly so they don’t have to pay people to corral carts and bring them in like at Target or Giant, etc. Those hours they pay multiple people each day every hour at those stores go where … to the product prices. SO this is part of how prices remain lower.
* Bring own bags — or buy them for a dime. See above on how prices remain low.
* Aldi backs up what they say, with their money. If you don’t like a product they will refund you not only your money — but give you your money and another item for FREE! Can’t beat that.
This store — 4 stars
All the above applies to this store. I like the staff here and generally find them very friendly and helpful. The store itself is a bit older and in a somewhat less than high end strip mall, to be politically correct. But other than a few sketch balls hanging out, in the plaza here and there, I havent had any issues at all as a white, higher income white collar guy. who goes in every week to get some stuff as I have at this store for 3 years.
But — I know Aldi has built some newer stores which have slightly better aesthetics in them, including one in DC. And the one in Woodbridhe on Smoketown is not bad either. But since I live a mile from here and just want to get quality food for less money, this one works out just fine for me.
If not this store, give Aldi a shot. I 100% guarantee you will save a ton of money and you will love that.

The prices at every affordable, and all of the items are well organized. I was always a little leery about shopping here, but I definitely think I will start grocery shopping here more often.

I saw the ads on TV and read these reviews. so even though it was out o. f the way a bit, I decided to give it a try. What I. Found was a small neat grocery with really affordable prices. For instance,
BACON at Harris Teeter today was $ 7.19 per lb. Aldi’s price was $ 3.49. White bread at Harris Teeter was $ 1.00…Aldi $ 1.29. Cereal at Aldi. most expensive was $ 2.50.
The meat selection was packaged. looked really good. not a lot of selection but what was there looked great. I would describe this as a small box store with NO FLUFF and really good prices.

The Ups: Great prices and the atmosphere is like the antithesis of Whole Foods.
The Downs: Doesn’t take credit cards and doesn’t have everything I need.
You will save money at Aldi. I shopped at the military commissary before this and going to Aldi saves me more money. (Yes!) And the people and experience of shopping there is amazingly awesome. Everything I dislike about other markets-​not here! It is quiet (no pop music over the loudspeaker). No screaming children and pandering parents (there are kids but they are quiet). People shop with a purpose (no aloof shoppers in their own world blocking aisles). Fast, efficient checkout lines (don’t hesitate or you’ll get dirty looks).
Also, they stock mostly private labels (or generic if you will). So if you are a «brand loyalist», you might want to look elsewhere.
TIP: Bring your own bags. Bring cash or debit (no credit cards). Don’t expect to find «everything» you want, but they do cover almost everything.

I don’t live near Aldi, but I discovered it while visiting my parents in Centreville and I’ve been a fan ever since. So I’ll occasionally schlep south from time to time to get my Aldi fix.
It’s a rather austere German grocery chain, but looks can deceive — it’s similar to its sister company Trader Joe’s in that nearly everything in the store is a generic store brand, but of impressive quality and a much lower price than store brands elsewhere.
Aldi keeps their prices so low by cutting costs in other ways: you’re required to bring your own bags (or you can use the spare cartons they have, if you forget yours), you deposit a quarter to get a shopping cart and get your quarter back upon returning the cart (so that the staff doesn’t have to retrieve the carts), and you have to pay by cash or debit card. I don’t consider any of these things inconveniences, since I try to do these things wherever I shop. ‘Cause I’m nice like that.
But I’ll tell you what I really love about Aldi: their chocolate. The brand is called Choceur, a steal at $ 2 a bar, and made with rich, silky German chocolate. While American brands like Hershey’s taste more like sugar and corn syrup than chocolate and are much too sweet for my liking, Choceur tastes like some real freaking chocolate. And their individually-​wrapped milk crème bars remind me of Kinder chocolates, which brings back happy childhood memories.

Scary is what comes to mind.
The parking and center is run down. That is a nice way to say it.
The store actually mirrors the center. No Frills, no free shopping carts (pay to get one) and no bags. Dark store with a very limited assortment of knock off brands. I question what inside those cheap yet unknow brands.
The store make me feel sad when shopping it. Opposite feeling than that of Whole Foods. Employees are very rude and talking on the phone during checkout.
The store did not even have a phone to call about hours nor publish a public number. Numerous websites states it too much overhead to have a phone?

I’ve always thought Aldi was a little shady, but this grocery is actually quite awesome! Its brother is Trader Joe’s (I recently found that out), and they have limited brand name, mostly generic/​Aldi-​produced food items as well as other specialty items. Prices are great — I usually get their spreadable cheese (the garlic flavored one) with the store’s version of Ritz crackers; milk chocolate candies, fruit snacks, as well as mini donuts for my students; great baking needs (like their cake mixes and frostings); awesome tubs of ice cream for ice cream parties that won’t break the bank; and, sometimes, they have chocolate covered potato chips as their ‘special of the week’ that is absolutely divine! Give Aldi a chance! Don’t forget to bring your reusable grocery bags (as you would have to dish out a few more cents for the store’s plastic ones); carts charge you a quarter, but when you put it back, you’ll automatically get refunded (this is a way to ensure that you put the carts back!).
+baking goods
+chocolate-​covered potato chips: D
+bring reusable grocery bags

This is a grocery store that offers generic brand products at cheap prices. They have lower fat/​calorie product line called Fit & Active which has everything from frozen meatballs to salad dressing and is very good. Some items are cheaper at the regular supermarket but as a whole this place has cheaper items.
Note: This place doesn’t have free bags so you’ll have to bring your own or pay to use theirs (or use their display boxes for free), also you’ll need to bring a quarter if you need to use a cart. It is just a deposit though and you’ll get it back when you leave.

The cheapest place to buy staples with no coupons — they only sell their own label products (which is often made by the brand name company) and are the biggest grocery chain in Germany and much of Europe. Beside flour, milk, canned veggies, cereals, fresh veggies and fruits, meats, they have special products every week. Check out the wine and beer section for some incredible finds (do not look at Liebfrauen Milch or Riesling, rather choose the slightly more expensive ones) or German chocolates.

ALDI is definitely the grocery store you want to go to for unbeatable discounted prices on groceries. The cost of food is skyrocketing alongside Gas these days, so for some people, seeing a price cut on their grocery bill would be a welcomed sight.
The majority of their products are in-​store brands but dont let that steer you away, as we should all remember «same ingredients-​same product” – brand loyalty is absurd, especially these days. Dairy, frozen foods, juices, cereals, boxed/​canned foods, hygeine products, beer/​wine, and everything in between can all be found here, my only gripe would be the meat and fruit section. The meat department at this location is pretty lackluster with a limited supply and a few poor choice cuts. Save your money on everything else, but maybe splurge a little more on meat elswhere. The fruit section is also hit or miss, depending on the day you go depends very much on what you will find.
(price comparison– you will find Milk at about 2 and some change here, at other big name stores, the price of milk is nearing as much as 4 dollars)
(Also: they „rent“ out their shopping carts for 25cents, so dont forget that quarter. ALDI also charges for paper/​plastic bags (roughly under 10cents each)
To close, if you can relate to my review by all means go and check for yourself (go to their website to locate the nearest in your neighborhood); you will notice a savings when compared to your bill from other grocery stores. Peace»