Aldi

[Kim Shook]

I just keep a quarter in my car - especially for Aldi.  Ours is a block away from my usual store and I go to Aldi first.  The prices are really much better on basics and I like their deli stuff, particularly the sliced cheeses.

[chromedome]

At my closest supermarket it's a dollar coin (because we *have* that option, I suppose) and there are no cart corrals in the parking lot. They do sell a token you can clip onto your keychain that fits the coin slot, so you never have to root around in your purse or pocket for a loonie. 

[Anna N]

15 minutes ago, chromedome said:

They do sell a token you can clip onto your keychain that fits the coin slot, so you never have to root around in your purse or pocket for a loonie. 

 Depending on the cost that is rather brilliant idea and one I would be up for if offered at a reasonable cost. 

[Martin Fisher]

11 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

I just keep a quarter in my car Jeep

 

We do the same.

[chromedome]

10 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 Depending on the cost that is rather brilliant idea and one I would be up for if offered at a reasonable cost. 

They charge $2 for it at No Frills. Superstore and Sobey's here don't use the coin/return system, but I'm guessing anywhere Superstore *does* use coins they probably sell the keychain thingie. 

[Shelby]

On 10/21/2017 at 12:21 PM, DiggingDogFarm said:

 

And definitely pricey!

 

Those prices almost caused a panic attack for me.

[Anna N]

20 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Those prices almost caused a panic attack for me.

 Not me! They look pretty darn standard. 

[lindag]

Wow

59 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Those prices almost caused a panic attack for me.

Me too...about $5.00 less here.

[andiesenji]

1 hour ago, Shelby said:

Those prices almost caused a panic attack for me.

Me too. 

 

[MelissaH]

Those prices are incredibly steep...especially considering that I drive past two Byrne Dairy stores (which have the exact same products at prices that won't induce heart attacks) on my way to the local Aldi.

[Martin Fisher]

Byrne Dairy stores are sort of a convenience store, hence the high prices.

Their cream is usually priced less elsewhere.

[Martin Fisher]

2 minutes ago, MelissaH said:

Those prices are incredibly steep...especially considering that I drive past two Byrne Dairy stores (which have the exact same products at prices that won't induce heart attacks) on my way to the local Aldi.

 

What are the prices in your area @MelissaH?

[MelissaH]

Last time I checked, a quart of non-ultrapasturized heavy cream was on the order of $5. Byrne Dairy is the only place I can find cream that isn't ultrapasteurized.

[Martin Fisher]

3 minutes ago, MelissaH said:

Last time I checked, a quart of non-ultrapasturized heavy cream was on the order of $5. Byrne Dairy is the only place I can find cream that isn't ultrapasteurized.

Yeah, the Byrne UP cream is usually ~$5.00 at other stores. Unfortunately, the non-UP cream is only available at Byrne  stores. 

Edited November 16, 2017 by DiggingDogFarm (log)

[andiesenji]

I shopped at Aldi yesterday.  They have very nice produce.  I bought some ENVY apples that have not shown up in other stores yet. This variety was developed in New Zealand bur these were grown in California and are from this year''s crop.

If you haven't yet tried them, do so.  They have the flavor that apples used to have.  I can't tell you how many times I have tried the "big name" apples (honeycrisp, gala, fuji, pink lady etc) and been disappointed because they did not taste anything like a REAL apple.  They have bred them to be survivors in long-term storage and bred the flavor out of them.

These are also HUGE!  

I bought some cheese, although they did not have the selection I was expecting, much less variety than Trader Joe's.  I bought some bratwurst and some bacon.

They offer a wide selection of breads at very reasonable prices and some great specials - large loaves of the white bread were 25¢ - for "stuffing" tho I didn't buy any, I already baked regular bread.  I did buy a box of large croissants - 6 for $2.49.  And some garlic Naan.

I bought some baby potatoes, some sweet potatoes of a different variety that I have seen before.  Two huge cucumbers - not the "English" type - I'm going to make braised cucumbers and celery, a side dish from my childhood that I haven't made for years.

I didn't get to the dairy aisle or look at the meat because I was tiring and needed to do a few other things yesterday. 

They are right across the street from a Stater Brothers market which has very good meat and real live butchers that will cut to order, grind the meats you want.  And on the opposite corner diagonally is the Walmart Supercenter.  Aldi is going to have to offer some really great buys to succeed there.

It's too bad they did not select a location where there are ZERO markets because we really need them in some places that have a lot of homes and no market for three miles.  

I think they must have listened to the wrong people when they selected that site.  It is right on the corner of a large undeveloped piece of land that, when I first moved here in 1988, was an onion field and there was a farm stand on the corner where I could buy onions for a dollar for a 10 pound bag.

 

[Porthos]

On 11/15/2017 at 3:05 PM, andiesenji said:

I have shopped at Winco, where one bags their own groceries and I can attest to the fact that it is a hell of a lot slower than at other stores where the checkers bag everything with customer's bags.  

 

WinCo is my go-to store, 1 1/2 miles away. Within 3 miles or less I also have Raphls, Vons (Safeway), Stater Bros, Superior Grocers, Aldi and other markets close but WinCo beats the others on price most of the time. Their produce section is well-stocked and, except for root vegetables, are of good quality. Root veggies tend toward old so you have to check individual items to make sure your getting something that will be okay. I don't mind the self-bagging. They installed 6 self-checkout statoins and I use them 95% of the time. I probably shop there an average of 3-4 times a week, picking up 10-12 items.  I buy a bit less than half of my meat there since I shop ads and Stater Bros puts various meats (which they are famous for) on good sales. Sausages and frozen chicken parts come from Costco.

 

The one down-side I can think of is that because of their very favorable pricing they tend to be the go-to store for people that need government assistance (and I am assigning no shame there) and so the first 10 days of the month there are many families filling carts to the brim, and that does take a lot of time for checkout. I work a bit harder during those days to be able to use the self-check. I jokingly call my self-f s self-check ninja because, since I use self-check when I can at any store I am very efficient.

 

As stated way up-thread I was very off-put by Aldi when I tried it when my local store opened a year and a half ago; that was before California enacted the "no more single-use plastic bags**" law. I suppose I should give it another try, better-armed now with knowledge of how they operate.

 

** A law that is not equally applied. Lowes and many others can still supply single-use bags to their customers.

[andiesenji]

3 minutes ago, Porthos said:

 

WinCo is my go-to store, 1 1/2 miles away. Within 3 miles or less I also have Raphls, Vons (Safeway), Stater Bros, Superior Grocers, Aldi and other markets close but WinCo beats the others on price most of the time. Their produce section is well-stocked and, except for root vegetables, are of good quality. Root veggies tend toward old so you have to check individual items to make sure your getting something that will be okay. I don't mind the self-bagging. They installed 6 self-checkout statoins and I use them 95% of the time. I probably shop there an average of 3-4 times a week, picking up 10-12 items.  I buy a bit less than half of my meat there since I shop ads and Stater Bros puts various meats (which they are famous for) on good sales. Sausages and frozen chicken parts come from Costco.

 

The one down-side I can think of is that because of their very favorable pricing they tend to be the go-to store for people that need government assistance (and I am assigning no shame there) and so the first 10 days of the month there are many families filling carts to the brim, and that does take a lot of time for checkout. I work a bit harder during those days to be able to use the self-check. I jokingly call my self-f s self-check ninja because, since I use self-check when I can at any store I am very efficient.

 

As stated way up-thread I was very off-put by Aldi when I tried it when my local store opened a year and a half ago; that was before California enacted the "no more single-use plastic bags**" law. I suppose I should give it another try, better-armed now with knowledge of how they operate.

 

** A law that is not equally applied. Lowes and many others can still supply single-use bags to their customers.

About a month or so ago, Winco had grapes  BY THE CASE on sale - not by weight.  One of the gals in the HOA office got an Excalibur dehydrator a while back (I talked her into it because they have a bunch of fruit trees) and she bought a case of the Red Flame grape. It worked out after she weighed them without the box at - 48¢ a pound.  She now has a lot of raisins which she feeds her kids instead of candy.  I was in the office yesterday and she said she was ordering another Excalibur because her husband wants one for making jerky and wants to keep it in the garage. (He thought she was nuts for buying the first one.)

I can't handle extended shopping because I tire rapidly even when I can use one of the handicap scooters, so I haven't been to Winco lately. It is such a huge store and the things I want seem to be at opposite ends.  I have to use my time wisely otherwise I am wiped out and have to spend much of the day with my feet up and resting and do my prep and cooking in small increments, resting in between.  A far cry from when I used to work 14-16 hours straight with only brief rests.

[Toliver]

3 hours ago, andiesenji said:

... And on the opposite corner diagonally is the Walmart Supercenter.  Aldi is going to have to offer some really great buys to succeed there.

It's too bad they did not select a location where there are ZERO markets because we really need them in some places that have a lot of homes and no market for three miles.  

I think they must have listened to the wrong people when they selected that site.  It is right on the corner of a large undeveloped piece of land that, when I first moved here in 1988, was an onion field and there was a farm stand on the corner where I could buy onions for a dollar for a 10 pound bag.

 

It's the same with the Aldi's here. They built it in the SAME SHOPPING CENTER as the Super Walmart. Aldi's must be staffed by corporate European idiots who think they know what they're doing and obviously don't. Who builds an Aldi's literally right next to a Super Walmart? Unless there's some sort of psychological/financial reason I'm just not seeing here...

2 hours ago, Porthos said:

...As stated way up-thread I was very off-put by Aldi when I tried it when my local store opened a year and a half ago; that was before California enacted the "no more single-use plastic bags**" law. I suppose I should give it another try, better-armed now with knowledge of how they operate.

 

** A law that is not equally applied. Lowes and many others can still supply single-use bags to their customers.

I thought the plastic single-use bag ban was for grocery stores only.

I was thrilled when I discovered Home Depot still gave out the single-use plastic bags. I recycle them/use them again & again and was ticked off when the voters voted to ban them. Idiots.

 

I think Aldi's does a lot of things Trader Joe's doesn't...sort of like an opposite Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's has a large produce section and wine and cheese section. Where those sections are a lot smaller in Aldi's. Aldi's has a much larger selection of canned goods/boxed goods than my Trader Joe's. Plus, Aldi's sells small appliances, chairs, toys, etc. that Trader Joe's doesn't (not that I would buy something like that from an Aldi's). 

Oh, and did you know that Aldi's and Trader Joe's are "related"? They both come from the same European company. If you Google their histories, you can trace them back to the same parent company.

 

And Andie, thanks for the recommendation of the ENVY apple. I will keep my eye out for them. They sound interesting.

[Martin Fisher]

44 minutes ago, Toliver said:

They built it in the SAME SHOPPING CENTER as the Super Walmart. Aldi's must be staffed by corporate European idiots who think they know what they're doing and obviously don't. Who builds an Aldi's literally right next to a Super Walmart? Unless there's some sort of psychological/financial reason I'm just not seeing here...

 

Demographics!

"Aldi has also opened stores close to Wal-Mart's supercenters to benefit from its budget-conscious shoppers."

Exclusive: Aldi raises stakes in U.S. price war with Wal-Mart

[Toliver]

2 minutes ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

 

Demographics!

"Aldi has also opened stores close to Wal-Mart's supercenters to benefit from its budget-conscious shoppers."

Exclusive: Aldi raises stakes in U.S. price war with Wal-Mart

Except if I'm a "budget-conscious shopper", I've spent all of my money at the Super Walmart getting groceries. Who has money left over for Aldi's? I don't get it.

[kayb]

Traffic is another consideration. They're counting on the WalMart draw to bring some number of curious shoppers through the doors just to look. Once there, they're counting on their prices, which are lower than WalMart on many items, to keep them coming back.

 

Milk (any fat content) is $1.50 a gallon at my Aldi. Half and half is 1.69 a quart. Heavy cream is 1.69 a pint. Butter is 2.99 a pound. I will rarely, if ever, buy those products anywhere else BUT Aldi. They also tend to have lower prices on cheese, and a better variety of sausages.

 

I will rarely ever buy groceries at WalMart (I don't GO to WalMart when I can avoid it; something about it seems to bring out the incipient stupidity in every individual who walks through the doors), an when I do, I NEVER buy produce or meat. Even when I was still buying the big frozen bags of chicken breast or leg quarters, I could swear those from WalMart were a lesser quality than those purchased at Kroger.

 

And don't get me started on their produce. It's awful.

 

[HungryChris]

28 minutes ago, kayb said:

 Milk (any fat content) is $1.50 a gallon at my Aldi. Half and half is 1.69 a quart. Heavy cream is 1.69 a pint. Butter is 2.99 a pound. I will rarely, if ever, buy those products anywhere else BUT Aldi. They also tend to have lower prices on cheese, and a better variety of sausages.

 

The eggs at Aldi (@ 46 cent a dozen) are far fresher than those at Walmart based both on the use by date as well as the way they lay down on their side when put in water to boil. Orange juice is good quality and almost always cheaper. I can get a six pack of chicken wings for less than $2 pp. At Walmart I would have to buy a great big package and pay another dollar a pound for it. Plus, at least where I live the overall experience is  much better at Aldi.  The bar codes for scanning items are on many sides of the products so even though the belt may be full in front of you,  it is emptied into the cart and moved out of the way in a heartbeat. There are some things I go to Walmart for, but Aldi is a much sharper run operation that gives them a competitive margin at a lower price on many, many things.

HC

[andiesenji]

I did not get to the dairy aisle.  Boneless spiral ham 2.99/lb,  Butterball turkeys  99¢/lb  russet potatoes 1.49/lb,  Granny smith apples  2.29/lb (more than Walmart)

 

These prices are comparable to other markets.  They do have a few things cheaper but the  cheeses I bought were Kerrygold and 3.49 each - they are 3.59 at Walmart.

The vine tomatoes were 1.89 for 4 in a bag, medium size.  The Pepper maple bacon was 6.99/lb.

The Brie cheese mentioned earlier in this thread: 2.99 for 8 ounces.  I don't know how that compares to what others paid but  I like the one Trader Joes carries the "triple cream brie" which is usually $6.99 a pound but occasionally there will be a special in the Fearless Flyer.  

The Brats were 3.99/package, I'll have to look to see what the weight is.

 

I don't need eggs, my friend brought me a basket last Saturday and would only take a dollar for two plus dozen.  So I didn't even look at them.  

Eggs are not as expensive as they were last spring but they are not cheap.

Edited November 21, 2017 by andiesenji (log)

[Porthos]

Just did a walk-through. Still not impressed. 

 

Produce was a mish-mash of bruised, blemished, and first quality.  They have a limited selection of apples and I would have been out of luck if I had done my shopping there earlier today.  I needed Braeburns, something Aldi does not carry.

 

Milk prices for what I drink are comparable to where I normally shop. And since they only sell gallons it wouldn't matter. With it down to me as the only milk drinker in the house I am now buying 1/2 gallon jugs. I get my eggs for a lower price.

 

When I looked at their canned goods I felt like I was in a Big Lots, products with labels that are supposed to look like name brands. The snacks aisle didn't fare  much better.  I just kept noticing the lack of choices.  I did not look at meat. We drink, mostly my DW, a lot of soda. Their selection was pathetic.

 

I didn't look at meat.

 

I live in a highly competitive grocery store market so as it stands Aldi still doesn't work for me. I am thinking that Aldis in different areas of the U.S. have significant differences such as the pricing on milk.

 

I already knew that Aldi and TJs have the same parent corporation. I still like TJs a lot.

[Martin Fisher]

6 hours ago, Porthos said:

I already knew that Aldi and TJs have the same parent corporation.

 

Nope, the Albrecht brothers split things up many years ago over a dispute over the sale of cigarettes.

Aldi USA was spawned from  Karl Albrecht's company whereas Trader Joe's was bought and expanded by Theo Albrecht.

 

Aldi definitely does not have as good of prices and is not as competitive in this area as it appears to be in others.

Within 4 miles we have Aldi, Tops, Jubilee, Weis and Walmart. There's also a Sam's Club.

Minier's, a family owned grocery store, is about 8 or 9 miles away.