I just went to Aldi which is about 1 mile from my house, I'm talking about the one in Cary on Maynard.

I must say I will be going there again. The quarter deposit seemed strange at first, but it makes sense. No bags at checkout, but again this makes sense. For all the single guys out there, this is basically the store to shop at.

a few notes that I was not aware of:
-bring your own shopping bags or boxes or something
-make sure you have a quarter, you will get it back, if you want a shopping cart
-no credit cards accepted. Just use cash or debt.
-look up and down every row.

I'd say for canned food you will not do better, if you like to stock up on stuff. I'm a stock up on stuff kind of person. Decent meat prices too.

I did some reading and in Europe this company is like our Walmart, but privately owned worldwide. People even have cookbooks using only Aldi stuff.

They should put one next to campus for all you guys and gals still in school

6/18/2008 11:10:59 AM

I always go and just carry everything I get rather than getting a cart because I always intend to just get 2 or 3 things and end up with a bunch. I don't think they like that. I like the Fit & Active brand stuff.

6/18/2008 11:14:30 AM

I just can't believe I waited as long as I did to stop in there. There has been on in Fuquay for a little while. From the outside if you have no idea what it is, you just can't figure it out. I mean no shopping carts in the parking lot, no special deal signs in the window, the logo is from another country........

6/18/2008 11:16:28 AM

Harris teeter for meet foodlion for everything else.

this is how i roll

6/18/2008 11:17:43 AM

The Town of Cary wouldn't let Aldi put a store in for a really long time because whoever decides that kind of thing thought it was too low-class.

6/18/2008 11:17:45 AM

except I just saw two soccer mom mercedes SUVS in the parking lot when I was leaving.............

its a very clean store, cleaner than any grocery store in the area by leaps and bounds too. So its not disturbing the visual quality of the area or whatever BS they have. Its not full of Hispanics if the racist Cary people were worried about that becoming a 'hangout' or whatever

It is actually in a right in the middle class part of town that is expanding.



[Edited on June 18, 2008 at 11:38 AM. Reason : middle class]

6/18/2008 11:23:00 AM

gawd i hate cary

6/18/2008 11:25:29 AM

Quote :

"gawd i hate cary"

6/18/2008 11:31:15 AM

WTF is up with the shopping cart deposit?

Quote :

"except I just saw two soccer mom mercedes SUVS in the parking lot when I was leaving"

ahaha, probably worth about $5k right now.

6/18/2008 11:39:16 AM

i haven't been to one here in the US, but i shopped there when I lived in Germany, and what you've described sounds like the norm in Germany. I'm glad to see they brought some of the same practices over here, and other stores should pickup on them.

- the quarter deposit for shopping carts is brilliant. This is done at every store in Germany. It basically ensures that carts are returned and put properly back in line with the rest of the carts (you put your quarter into the handle of the cart to release it from the line, then when you're done you have to buckle a strap on the cart to the cart in front of it to get your quarter back) so there are no carts sitting in the middle of the parking lot or at random places because people are too lazy to return them

- Most stores in germany charge 10-25 cents per plastic bag if you don't bring your own bags, so that really cuts down on the plastic waste

[Edited on June 18, 2008 at 11:44 AM. Reason : .]

6/18/2008 11:43:31 AM

i interviewed with aldi several times but didn't get a position. They have a really really regimented way of doing things. The corporate culture was a little strange and in hindsight i dont think it would have been a good fit for me. I do like the stores, you can find some good deals. And if you check out their sunday flyers they will have some great deals on random ass shit (mom got ipods for us from there for xmas one year) each store will get like 10-20 units of the deal of the week, which is pretty cool.

6/18/2008 11:45:40 AM

they make great points on their website for all of the "wtf" things.

6/18/2008 11:46:50 AM

Quote :

"i interviewed with aldi several times but didn't get a position. They have a really really regimented way of doing things. "

ya think? they are german you know

6/18/2008 11:56:53 AM

Quote :

"According to a survey conducted in 2002 by the German market research institute Forsa, 95% of blue-collar workers, 88% of white-collar workers, 84% of public servants and 80% of self-employed Germans shop at Aldi."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldi

6/18/2008 11:57:43 AM

^^ yeah, and aren't the brothers in the top 10 of richest people in the world?

6/18/2008 12:07:57 PM

Great store, shop there all the time. Only thing is the vegetables/fruits can be hit or miss.

6/18/2008 12:48:09 PM

dang these fig bars i got are the best fig bars I've ever had

6/18/2008 1:50:19 PM

Quote :

"-no credit cards accepted. Just use cash or debt debit."

they are building one here in rocky mount. i didn't know anything about it until this thread. i guess i'll check it out. i was told it was similar to save-a-lot (the serial killer grocery store*), which carries expired leftover no-name stuff. went in once and will never go again.

*apparently herb baumeister started sav-a-lot, which different from save-a-lot i think.

[Edited on June 18, 2008 at 2:00 PM. Reason : ]

6/18/2008 1:50:27 PM

Quote :

"WTF is up with the shopping cart deposit?"

it's so shopping carts don't end up polluting peoples apartment complexes or as free transportation for the homeless. seriously, there was a shopping cart that sat at the corner of Ivy Commons Drive and Avent Ferry for like a month.

6/18/2008 2:31:06 PM

im so lazy i still leave them out there sometimes. free 25cents for someone...

6/18/2008 2:47:00 PM

Quote :

"ya think? they are german you know "

haha yeah i know, and i guess that is what they are going for. The people that i met in that organization just seemed so bland. My cousin's husband works for them, he's a regional manager, and he's about as bland as a book of stamps.

6/18/2008 4:02:58 PM

makes me think of one of these...



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Races_and_Species_in_The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy#Vogons

6/18/2008 4:08:33 PM

skwinkle would probably be a cool gf to have other than the vegetarian thing

6/18/2008 4:14:05 PM

the wine from there is also good.

its an all around good store. ive been in there twice for quick pick ups, so luckily i didnt need a cart or bags.

i think they do have bags, they are $.10 though, there was someone in front of me that asked for a bag, cashier said that its 10 cents and he kinda threw a little fit.. but then realized its 10 freakin cents..

oh well. A+++ will shop again

6/18/2008 4:20:31 PM

my roomate from luxembourg said that the kids at school thats parents got their shoes from aldi used to yell "aldi shoes, aldi shoes" at them

6/19/2008 12:20:14 AM

hmmm, i've always intended to go into that store, as it's also literally a mile from my house... i may have to go there tomorrow

p.s. where do you live cheerwhiner? maybe we live in the same neighborhood

6/19/2008 1:05:39 AM

the only one i ever went to was in DC. kind of ghetto, but it was a good deal.

6/19/2008 1:08:07 AM

^Yep, I've found that pretty much any "discount" store around DC is ghetto. I live in a relatively nice neighborhood just outside of Alexandria and our Wal-Mart is more ghetto than any I've been in around Raleigh.

Still, I'd probably go to Aldi sometime to check out their deals.

6/19/2008 8:04:00 AM

aldi is a mini super walmart.

selling chairs, tables, lawn equipment, soil (i think).

they've got it all

shirts and other clothing

6/19/2008 8:08:33 AM

Quote :

"im so lazy i still leave them out there sometimes. free 25cents for someone..."

haha if enough people start doing that they might attract some bums

6/19/2008 8:16:32 AM

aldi's owners also own trader joes.


i dont carry cash, so i rarely shop at aldi.


but they do have really good deals


i get the special purchases email each week

6/19/2008 8:56:25 AM

I've been to Aldi a million times in Germany. I was curious to know if this Aldi is similar to the ones in Europe and it sounds like it is. I'll have to check it out.

btw...the two brothers that own Aldi are in the top 100 richest men in the world. I think they might be top 10.

6/19/2008 9:22:09 AM

speaking of trader joes, when will that new north raleigh location be open?

6/19/2008 9:24:47 AM

Quote :

"my roomate from luxembourg said that the kids at school thats parents got their shoes from aldi used to yell "aldi shoes, aldi shoes" at them"

well i won't buy shoes there, or at Kmart for that matter. Remember kids with kmart shoes growing up??

6/20/2008 7:28:32 AM

I went into the Aldi on Wake Forest a few weeks ago. All I wanted was some bacon, felt like I was in a walmart/food bank but a little cleaner. I'm more than happy to spend a few extra bucks a visit at whole foods & harris teeter.

6/20/2008 8:11:17 AM

That place fucking blows.

I walked through the maze of crap. only thing i found worth a poop was a couple apples and bananas. oh and i got some peppers that were strangly all wrapped up in three packs. then i go to check out and there was one cashier and like 8 people w/ carts full of crap inline ahead of me. I'm like wtf are your coworkers?? and the girls like we don't have a lot of employees working at once to save money and pass it on to you.

So i saved like 25cents on fruit, waited in line for 20 minutes, and had to carry my shit out w/o a bag.

F - will not do business with again.

6/21/2008 1:14:05 PM

Yeah it's a shitty store, but they have this Guatemalan beer called Monterrey that's dirt cheap.

6/21/2008 1:28:02 PM

Quote :

"no credit cards accepted. Just use cash or debt."

Like everything else, but that is a deal breaker. I've gotten used to my cashback bonus and the convenience of not having to worry if I have enough in my account. That's not to say that I'm spending money I don't have, but rather that my checking account does earn any interest, so I only keep about $20 in there and just transfer money in once a month to pay bills.

6/21/2008 4:23:27 PM

Quote :

"WTF is up with the shopping cart deposit?"

a deposit for the cart means there's no labor cost associated with fishing loose carts from the parking lot. it's pretty common even among the bigger chains up north.

6/21/2008 6:07:00 PM

this place fucking sucks.

6/21/2008 7:30:58 PM

Got bored and decided to scope out the ghetto Alexandria VA one over the weekend. Their meat prices were OK but not worth it if you have to drive out of the way...you can find specials on meat at the grocery store and pay about the same amount.

The canned food was CHEAP, though. Definitely good if you like to stock up.

6/23/2008 12:52:12 PM

just an FYI for anyone who cares. Their non-food shit comes from the same sources as Walmart. Same vendors, same manufacturers, same country of origin. Just more throw-away culture

I do like the way they do carts and bags though, makes good sense

6/23/2008 1:24:01 PM

went to aldi for the first time. not impressed, will not be going back. I much prefer Trader Joe's.

6/23/2008 1:29:27 PM

I agree, Food Lion is just as good for meat.

6/23/2008 8:05:10 PM

I was in the northern Raleigh one with a friend once. It seemed a little ghetto, but apparently you can buy tons of food for dirt cheap from there. I'd go, but it seems like the cost in gas to get there would offset any savings gained. I think I'll stick to Food Lion and my mvp card anyway, I'm literally within walking distance of a Food Lion.

6/23/2008 9:32:25 PM

Went to the Aldi off of Maynard for the first time today and I loved it. Lots of random things that are at least 50% cheaper than grocery stores (almonds, cherries, shrimp for today). Meat prices aren't spectacular but I think its worth going out there at least once a month to stock up on random cheap things.

7/6/2008 12:44:53 AM

Laundry Detergent is something like $1.99 there as well.

7/6/2008 1:01:32 AM

never been but hope to go at some point...i'm guessing its like the family dollar version of trader joes??

7/6/2008 1:14:06 AM

no, its Walmart with a four letter name

7/6/2008 1:57:30 AM

Quote :

"For all the single guys out there, this is basically the store to shop at."

Had my attention here, but failed to explain why.

I can walk to this motherfucker. I just need a reason besides cheap wine (which I rarely drink) to do so...

7/6/2008 2:23:13 AM