Woo hoo! The north side of Peoria gets an ALDI! October 29th, 2010 was the grand opening of this store. As you can imagine, I avoided this place like the plague on opening day, but decided to try it out today(Saturday, October 30th). It’s located by the Menards on Allen Road. For those of you not familiar with ALDI, it is a small grocery store that offers«honest to goodness savings.» How do they accomplish their slogan? Well, this is certainly no luxury market. ALDI carries mostly ALDI brands(though some name brands like Pringles and M&Ms can be found), and there is generally only one of every type of item, which makes choosing your grocery items pretty fast and easy. They do not run credit cards(payment is in cash or debit only), they do not offer grocery bags(bring your own — I like this«green» aspect!), and you need to bring a quarter with you if you want to get a grocery cart.(You’ll get your quarter back, once you return the cart.) Basically, ALDI has eliminated any extra feature that would increase the cost of food. As ALDI cuts all the extras, here’s what not to expect: a deli department, certain«exotic» food items, pharmacy/photo department, etc. Generally speaking, they’re probably going to have most of what you need on your grocery list. Some examples of things I’m sticking to Kroger for: wheat flour(ALDI only carries white), lettuce(ALDI only carries iceberg, and I prefer green leaf or romaine), etc. If you’re a «brand snob,»(I really mean no offense by this, but you know who you are!) don’t be afraid of the off-brand items in the store. They taste great and Aldi offers a 100% double guarantee of satisfaction, meaning if you don’t like the item, they’ll exchange the item AND give you a refund. Pretty generous if you ask me. In terms of price, you really are getting a great deal, though if Kroger is having a super sale, they may beat ALDI on certain items. Nevertheless, comparing ALDI and Kroger across the board on regularly priced items, ALDI will always win. I noticed a particular difference on meat, baking items and most produce. This particular ALDI was nice, and what I have come to expect from ALDI stores. Not every ALDI has a beer and wine selection, but this location does. Overall, my wallet was very happy, and though I will not eliminate my total grocery shopping from Kroger, this ALDI will probably get at least 50 — 75% of my grocery budget each month now. I also liked how the weekly coupon insert included a $ 5 off your total grocery bill for this ALDI location, during the October 20th — November 30th period. Sweet!
