Aldi vs. WalMart foodstores

Interesting article. And my personal experience matches.

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/01/1 ... rm-the-us/

Interesting article. And my personal experience matches.

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/01/1 ... rm-the-us/

The article says Aldi owns Trader Joes.

WOW..

Is that true? If so, yeah, I'm going to check out Aldi soon. They may be a force.....

(please Aldi, give us TJ's in Louisville.......)

I'm not sure how long Aldi has been in Louisville, but I want to say my family first started shopping there when my dad lost his job in 96/97ish. My sister shopped there when she was in Germany (as 90% of Germans do). I shopped there throughout college and continue to do so today.

I spend about $75 every two weeks on groceries. 66% or more is spent at Aldi. I continue to make some purchases at Kroger (specific OJ, bread, tuna, Smart Start, etc.) but buy my staples, canned good, and many meats at Aldi (can't tell a difference between Aldi ground turkey and Kroger, except the price). The only thing there that is hit-or-miss is produce, especially fruit products. The vegetables are decent, but, obviously, not farm fresh or local.

The store concept is unbelievably efficient. The store can operate on as little as 2 employees, and even when busy, only needs 4 employees.

I highly recommend giving Aldi a shot. When we first started shopping there as a family, we had a very simple approach. Let's try an item once and then decide if we want to turn to it again. The prices allow for such an approach.

Matthew, we buy nearly all the food for our B&B and a lot for my baking biz at Aldi. We love their bread (12 grain, but not artisan style by any means) tuna (canned tuna is canned tuna) and O.J. With the O.J, try adding a packet or two of sweetner or a bit of sugar to negate some of the acid and it approaches the taste of fresh squeezed. (Approaches, not the same.)

Their price on eggs can be 50 cents cheaper than Kroger some weeks, and since I usually buy 10-12 dozen at a time, Aldi helps.

Aldi is awesome - my only wish is that there was one closer in to downtown.
My mother used to shop at aldi when I was a teen and back then I perceived it to be ghetto because it's so stripped down compared to a Dominicks or Jewel (think Kroger). However when I moved to Italy stores like Aldi and Lidl were the dominant form of grocery store life and so I learned to love Aldi and their low costs. The product quality is there but since they sell mostly private label products and have low overhead from a small payroll they are able to pass that price savings onto the customers. Trader Joes has the same model and we all know how cool they are!

The Aldis back in Chicago would make you put a quarter in the cart(think luggage cart airport) then give it back to you when you pushed it back to the store. As kids we would find the non returned carts and push them back for candy money.

Having your "cart quarter" ready is part of ALdi's charm. Also it keeps the carts from rolling around the parking lot and denting your car, because most people will return their cart of get their quarter back.

So where is an Aldi in Louisville? I think I know where the one in New Albany is but maybe I'm wrong...

Preston Highway near Value City, right?

Also past (the old) Bashford Manor on Bardstown Rd and Fegenbush Ln (across from the old Pace).

Dixie/Valley Station/PRP too

I love ALDI! I save on average about 40% from what I would spend at Kroger. It's not a good place if you're looking for specific things though, unless they are also very popular ingredients. I always have tu supplement from Kroger, but it's worth the savings. I've been very happy with the generic brands and have never had a problem with the produce. Go during the day if you can - it's very uncrowded and quiet. Also, be sure to take your own bags.

Save-a-lot is another great discount place, but I think the generics at ALDI are better.

I have recently discovered Aldi's as well and LOVE it! I was under misconceptions of the place as well, but was intrigued by the prices. So one day, I threw caution to the wind and bought all of my weekly groceries there. It was hard trying to get past the brand name, or lack there off actually. I was very skeptical. But, I found out very fast that everything was really really good. Now there were a few stinkers, just like normal when you try store brands. Expecting one taste and getting something different. Not bad, just different. The cheese is a great value and tastes just like kraft, but much cheaper. Same for the sour cream, milk, butter. There still are a few things that I do go to Meijer or Kroger for, because you can't get everything there. I live in Indiana and have checked out both the one in NA on Grantline Rd and the one in Jeff by Tumbleweed on Hwy 62. I prefer the one in Jeff better. Just personal choice. If you have not checked it out, do yourself a favor.

We shop at Aldi's about once a week to stock up on basics and staples. There are a number of Aldi-brand items that I really prefer -- the mixed nuts/trail mix, milk, eggs, cheese (esp. the Havarty and the string cheese), a lot of the Fit & Active products (fat-free chocolate pudding, blue corn chips, etc.), the peach & pineapple salsa, the brown-and-serve cibatta bread, the American cheese food slices that we wrap the dogs' pills in (don't recommend the vegetable-oil-based cheese for cooking or eating, but the dogs don't complain), the frozen ground turkey ($0.99 a pound), the chicken parts (thighs, legs, boneless breasts, etc.), and lots more. I bought some of their "premium" ground coffee blends for the office and the coffee-drinkers there (I'm not one of them) thought it was pretty good for everyday coffee. Oh, and do NOT fail to try their Roth chocolate bars! Awesome!!

Their Appleton brand spiral sliced ham is absolutely delicious and a far better deal than a Honeybaked ham. It comes with a glaze packet, which you mix up and brush onto the ham after it has been heated.

And don't forget their DOUBLE guarantee. "If for any reason, you are not 100% satisfied with any product, we will gladly replace the product AND refund your money."

Be sure to check out their website and sign up for the weekly sale flyers, which they send out by email on Saturday nights:
http://aldi.us/index_ENU_HTML.htm

The local stores include:

3442 Preston Hwy., Louisville, KY
3131 E. Highway 62, Jeffersonville, IN
3118 Grant Line Road, New Albany, IN
5109 Dixie Hwy, Louisville, KY
4301 Bardstown Rd., Louisville, KY
10304 Dixie Highway, Louisville, KY
1504 N. Dixie Ave, Elizabethtown, KY
202 Franks Drive, Madison, IN
330 Meyers Road, Seymour, IN

I took the Aldi plunge today and was very pleasantly surprised (except I will not go during the first week of the month ever again!!). I went to the one on Bardstown Road and was pleased with the cleanliness of the store and at how polite the checker was. I did like the double guarantee, so I branched out and tried some of their pasta and canned products. I was absolutely stunned at the cost of milk ($.99 for a GALLON ... yes, you read that correctly ... a GALLON) and cheese (3 cups for $1.99). Ground sirloin (90/10) was $2.79/lb. and the 93/7 blend was only a dime higher. Canned chicken broth was $.49 a can. Bananas were $.39 a pound (and I am using a lot of bananas at the moment). I came out with two full paper bags, plus the milk, 5 lbs. baking potatoes and the bananas ... total of $35.00 and some change. Put a big, big smile on my face.

For those of you that frequent the place, what store items have you not liked as well as name-brands?

"told ya so"

Aldi's paper towles suck, big time. And the dish soap is acceptable, but not fabulous. Other than that, we like everything.