Aldi

I have to update as I have been shopping here a lot recently because my local grocery is just not cutting it. Ground beef and poultry have both been great — and so were the prices. Dates were fantastic on them as well — never had any of them go bad. Milk, eggs, butter — all must buys. Lettuce and peppers were inexpensive and of great quality. Tortilla chips are delicious, their version of Velveeta is less than half the price and tastes the same. Sour cream — didn’t love the texture, as it was like yogurt (personal preference!) so that was my only miss the last trip. I will be back and try a few more things ~ and save some money.
Staff are always friendly and helpful. Make sure to bring your own bags (or buy some there) and a quarter for the cart.

I needed tuna. I didn’t want to run into a big market, so I went to Aldi, which I try to avoid because it’s like shopping in a Russian grocery store during the fall of Communism.
I had to spend my own money on a bag. Because, who wants to juggle cans of tuna (plus the chips and cat food I picked up) without a bag. And Aldi doesn’t provide bags. Those cheap bastards.
I have a computer for a brain, so when the total seemed a tad high, it bothered me, but, I had already left the store. Once I got home I searched through my paid-​for-​bag for my receipt. Sure enough, they charged me for more tuna than I purchased.
I called the 800 number on the receipt, and waited… and waited. When I finally got a human and not a voice recording during my wait, I told her about the overcharge. She seemed apologetic but then started asking me for a lot of personal information plus every bit of information from the receipt, after informing me I would need to return to the store and talk to the manager in order to get my refund anyway. When I asked why I had to give her all of my information, she informed me that «I reached out to Aldi» as if they now have every right to do a background check on me! WTF, I just wanted justice on being charged for something I didn’t buy!
After about the 15^th question, I gave up and said I would just take the can of tuna that I was charged for next time I was in the store. Then I said goodbye and hung up.
Carpentersville police, don’t worry, it will be a cold day in hell before I go into Aldi again. So you won’t get a call from a manager of Aldi saying some crazy dude was stealing a can of tuna.
They do now accept credit cards, but their prices have gone up. And I still think it’s ridiculous to have to pay for a bag. Also one time I got a bad sack of carrots, and as proven by this post, it’s not worth trying to get your money refunded. They are an embarrassment to the community.

I have to give this Aldi major credit. You can tell they are very organized, and clean. They have a very fresh produce section, with lots of organic & gluten free options, I’ve actually been coming here for (certain items) for the past 2 years, rather than doing my shopping at the more high priced super markets. Also, if you drink bottled water, you can get a case of 24 for about 2 something bucks, and the fact that they use BPA free bottles is only better! My only complaint is they do not have a fresh deli (I’m a sandwich-​aholic) and try not to eat crappy packaged meats, and cheeses. Good selection of bread too, you can find a great gluten-​free white and (whole grain) variety I’ve started using for sandwiches, as well as your regular Turano bread options.
I would totally give this Aldi 5 stars, but I do have a couple more issues, sometimes they seem just a little understaffed here, and things are not always stocked for example, which can be aggravating when you’re only here for a few things. Over the years, I’ve also gotten a few cashiers (not all of them) who really aggressively scan/​throw your food in the shopping cart, now I understand sometimes it gets busy, but this isn’t a race, maybe tone it down a notch! I also forgot to mention, they have what looks to be a good wine/​beer section, which I have not yet tried, but heard pretty good things, maybe someday.

I’ve been shopping here forever. Back in the day their selections were limited, so I still had to shop at another grocer to finish my list. As time has gone by they have offered more and more varieties of items. Now I shop exclusively here. It’s on the way home, it’s clean, organized and it’s small. I don’t have to park far and walk a block inside the store to get what I need. They have such a nice variety, everything is fresh. They have a constant turnover so their produce is fresh and plentiful. For the most part you can beat their prices. They also offer non-​food items, toiletries, paper products, always reasonable and good quality. Also offered are an ever changing variety of items such as kitchen cookware, bathroom décor, toys during the holiday season, etc. I bought my daughter an item similar to a magic bullet to make herself smoothies. It was only $ 16.99 and works like a charm.
I have never had a bad experience here no matter what I purchased. I love this place and see no reason whatsoever to shop elsewhere and pay more. Now their website offers a huge variety of delicious recipes and all the ingredients can be purchased at Aldi so I don’t have to run around to other stores. Thanks Aldi! xoxo

This Aldis is so clean and organized I made a decision to shop here after work rather than the one near my home. The parking lot is clean, staff friendly, produce fresh, and the meat selection offers the most delicious meal options.

I stop by here once a week to buy 2% milk for my daughter and I and lactose free milk for my wife. The prices for both are at least a buck cheaper than Jewel. We also pick up other stuff too, such as snacks for my daughter’s lunch bag and other various non-​perishables.
We have, on occasion, done ‘blind taste tests’ at home of Aldi generic brand and regular name brand items and Aldi’s products usually do pretty well.
As others have said, they don’t accept credit cards so make sure you bring cash… Also I think they also take ATM cards, but I am not positive… just make sure to bring a quarter to get a cart (you’ll get it back when you return the cart at the end of your visit).

They take Visa debit cards as well as (SNAP) Illinois Link Cards. No credit cards.

It’s taken me a long time to even consider Aldi worthy of reviewing, but suffice to say, I have slowly become a fan. For years, I would never set foot in the place after the whole dead mouse in the can of veggies fiasco years ago, but over the last couple of years, I have slowly warmed back up to the place. You won’t find a fancy grocery store here. In fact, the aisles are made up of cardboard boxes full of their food offerings. Shopping carts are 25c (which you get back upon successful return of the cart to the cart corral). Bags are extra too. Don’t bother calling them for information either. In fact, Aldi never publishes a public telephone number for any of their stores. Closed on Sunday, too.
What you will find at Aldi is a decent selection of fresh products that compete favorably with the offerings of other, more expensive grocery stores. All of the brands are house brands, with the occasional name brand thrown in to the mix when they can offer the item at a competitive price.
One thing I like about Aldi in particular is that you never have to worry about product freshness. They cycle through inventory so quickly, everything is über-​fresh with expiration dates way out in the future. Unlike the other major grocery store across town, I never find any expired merchandise on the shelves at Aldi.
I don’t do all of my grocery shopping at Aldi by any stretch, but I do go there regularly for certain items. Their snack food brand «Clancy’s» is excellent. Great potoato chips, especially the Kettle Chips variety. Excellent Cheese Curls too. I also prefer their Nacho Cheese flavored tortilla chips over Doretos. Their house brand of ground coffee rates favorably with me as well and that is what I typically brew for customer coffee at my office. Great robust flavor. Eggs are usually cheaper and the same with gallons of milk. Expiration dates on eggs and milk are usually three weeks out versus 1 ½ — 2 weeks at a conventional grocery store. Merchandise definitely does not sit for long at an Aldi store. Produce can be hit or miss, so I really don’t buy much in the way of produce at Aldi, but the 99c bags of mixed salad greens is a good bargain. Loaves of bread and hamburger and hotdog buns are always VERY soft and fresh too. I have also experimented with some of their frozen food items as well. These have generally been hit or miss, but nothing so far has been objectionable. I have not tried any of their fresh cuts of meat since I prefer to get my meat from the butcher, but one day, I may give some of it a try just to see how it is.
They only take cash at the register (or your Welfare card) and the checkout lines operate with amazing efficiency. Occasionally the lines do get long however and they usually will not open up another line.
So, bring a short stack of cash, your grocery bags and some patience and you will find many a great bargain on some excellent food choices at Aldi.
In fact, as I sit typing this, I have polished off a full bag of Clancy’s Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper Potato Chips with my evening cocktail. I guess I spoiled my dinner.