Aldi

Aldi is not your typical grocery store. In fact it’s a European export of a discount grocer. Don’t expect to walk into a HEB or Kroger. What you can expect is a clean and well organized grocer with limited selection of products at deeply discounted prices. How do they do this? Low overhead. There are very few employees on site. Basically some cashiers. No baggers. Plan on bagging your own groceries. And plan on bringing your own bags or purchasing paper bags for $ 0.06 or reusable plastic bags for $ 0.10. Also, since they model is low overhead they expect you to return your own cart from the parking lot. The carts a locked to each other and can be unlocked for a quarter. When you return your cart you get a quarter back. Seems fair enough to me. Finally, they don’t take credit cards or checks. Bring cash or a debit card to shop here.
Additional services that you won’t find at Aldi is a deli, a butcher department, and pharmacy. They do sell fresh meats at very affordable prices but they are prepackaged so you choose from what’s available. You can’t ask the butcher for specific cut or meat cut a certain way what you see is what you get. They offer fresh produce but it also is smaller selection than what you find at your typical grocer. They do sell a limited selection of OTC drugs and vitamins at deep discounts but no prescription service. Generally speaking there selection is smaller across the board but they do have some unique product selections that you might not find everywhere. Another upside is that it is not a chaotic experience. There aren’t huge crowds and you can get in and out relatively quick with basic staple items. The limited service I got on my first and only visit was friendly and competent. In short give it a try if you want the deep discounts. Just plan on an additional stop at you typical grocer for the stuff you want that they simply don’t have.

This new store has all your basic food items that you need: (Dairy, Fresh Produce. Meat, Wine, Snacks) at a fraction of what you would pay at similar grocery stores in the area. Today I got a bag of broccoli crowns (well over $ 2 a pound at name brand Grocery) for only $.99 for 2 pounds. The quality is great. The staff is nice. Remember to bring a quarter and your own bags (or you can buy some) and you’re well on your way to lots of savings. They even took a coupon of theirs that expired a day ago and accepted it for us on our order. We left the store with 12 planned meals for only $ 40. Try Aldi out! It’s a steal.

I have been an Aldi fan for a couple of years. Glad to have one close. I consistently save at least 25%, more on produce. It is European style, bag your own, quarter for a cart, refundable upon return. They appear to pick motivated and friendly employees and treat/​pay them well

My first experience was at the Jones Rd location. Truth is, I wasn’t impressed enough to make it a frequent stop on my itinerary. But this new location wowed me. It’s not huge or fancy. None of them are, they are practical. For the newbie, you buy your cart with a quarter (which you get back when it’s returned) and begin you’re grocery search just through the front door with a row of chips, candy, cookies, health food bars, nuts/​fruit, and cereals to the liquor section which looked interesting, meat section, cheese/​sausage/​salsa/​hummus/​lunch meats/​canned biscuit section… there is a baked goods section, produce section, various gluten free options, juice/​soda/​water, toys, household stuff, eggs/​milk, frozen foods… basically there is a lot to choose from. Beside the gluten free choices, I love the fact that many of the foods have no artificial colors and preservatives. Dye free jello and pudding is almost unheard of in other stores, but not here. Make sure to bring grocery bags unless you want to buy them in store. The employees are very nice. Overall, this is my favorite grocery store when I need a few things and don’t want to spend a ton.