I've only been into one Aldi in the U.S. ust once and that was the/a Rochester MN one well over a dozen years ago. Yes, it did look rather sad and filled with 3rd tier brands so a dollar store comparison was apt at that time (I'm not a snob and frequent the ones in Europe).

The same thing used to be said about Aldi and its twin Lidi in the U.K. until they started to make available private-and brand label stuff supposedly as good if not superior to brands (thinking wines, at least). The other marketing big draw - as it is in continental Europe - is the weekly assortment of (mostly) non-perishables hat got people coming n every week. Do the U.S. branches offer that?

Maybe except I know a few who have made similar statements about Aldi and they were not joking about the quarter and bagging their own groceries. I shop Aldi for the convenience. The same with Sam’s Scan N Go or order ahead vs waiting in line at Costco.

now that Costco has self-checkout, I’m sure that they will implement scan & go as soon as they figure out how to have receipt-printing stations for the receipt check at the exit :-)

Sam’s scans the QR code on the phone screen and then a couple of items in the cart. Even beer and wine can be purchased with the Scan n Go. The QR code is red instead of black with a note to provide your ID for age verification.

Sam’s has had Scan N Go and order ahead for several years. I was surprised Costco was trailing in the customer checkout technology especially order ahead and pick up.

The logos are different, therefore easy to distinguish Nord from Süd

I know there’s a Trader Joe’s separate thread but they have so many useful products at Costco-like prices that I’m getting more staples there than before for my weekly visits. They carry some bread products at prices better than Safeway.

Didn't H-E-B backtrack on its mask-optional policy in less than 24 hours? Went to Central Market earlier this week and I'm pretty sure there was still a masks required sign at the entrance.

In what was a very strange lead story on DFW local news tonight, H-E-B is opening two regular (non-Central Market) stores in DFW: one in Plano and one in Frisco. Why does a supermarket chain opening two locations in a 7 million metro area deserve 90 seconds of air time on a 30 minute news broadcast?

slotting swap :-)

20 years ago I walked into an Aldi store near Den Haag and it was the filthiest store I'd ever seen. No way was I purchasing food there.

6 years ago I checked out the Aldi ~2 miles from us, and while it was reasonably clean, it was small and unexciting. It was next door to a Dollar General in a location with zero foot traffic, a challenging turn into the parking lot and I just didn't see the point of going. Also, almost zero gluten-free products.

In 2018 a friend emailed about a big gluten-free promo in the month of May at Aldi stores. The dumpy store had moved to a bigger, newer building right on my path to my usual store. One visit there and I switched 75% of my shopping to Aldi: they carry the only gluten-free bread my kid can eat now that several major GF brands have thrown a bunch of "healthier" grains (read: life-threatening allergens) into their breads and quite a few other gluten-free products. Our elderly cat loves their water-pack tuna, and I buy at least a dozen cans of that each week, for 65¢/can, for the cat.

There's definitely a cross section of the community there, but I wouldn't call them riff-raff.

You've not been to an Aldi in the UK then.

I loved the Lidl in bruxelles and my local friends there had a wide range of opinions. I would say the same about any grocery chain and the riff raff, whose range depends on a subjective POV. I would enjoy visiting Aldi if they opened in my city, which I doubt will occur; before I had time to visit supermarkets, I never saw the failed Tesco experiment but people loved it during the first month.

Actually, I have. It was unexciting, no better or worse than other markets I was in. Checking out grocery stores/ food markets is a travel hobby of mine; I think I was in 16 of them in 14 days. Sainbury's, Tesco, Aldi, M&S food halls, corner shop in York, and probably a few I don't remember. Iceland was the one that was disgusting in terms of cleanliness and quality.

Maybe I am too middle class but I strongly prefer Lidl to Aldi. They usually have some interesting products at excellent prices (eg a leg of Serrano ham a couple of years ago), whereas Aldi is just grim.

Aldi UK has interesting products like this. Probably sold out first day

https://www.aldi.co.uk/gardenline-bb...04913451084200

https://www.independent.co.uk/extras...-b1820936.html

Aldi works well for us, the basic meat products are comparable to Costco and with 4x Amex points (depending on which card) vs zero at Costco its a no brainer.
Fruit and vegetables are also generally quite fresh and cheap so its a win win.