Aldi – Save Money on Groceries Here

Our daughter at Aldi posing with "Clancy's potato chips," which greatly resemble "Lays" - Photos by Adam Baron

Aldi located in Lauderdale Lakes

Have you ever shopped at Aldi for groceries?

Believe it or not, this German company is the ninth largest food retailer in the world with over 1000 stores across the United States.  They are a discount grocery chain that offers consumers the highest quality, everyday items at the lowest possible prices. I first heard about Aldi on one of those news-magazine shows a few years back.  I thought their idea of grocery shopping sounded fantastic, and I couldn’t wait until they came to South Florida. Aldi is now aggressively expanding throughout Florida and South Florida including locations in Lauderdale Lakes, Pembroke Pines and Deerfield Beach.

I finally visited Aldi at the Lauderdale Lakes location with my family on Saturday afternoon. The first thing we noticed when we entered is that we had to deposit 25 cents to use a shopping cart. This is returned when the cart is brought back, saving money on employees to gather baskets in the parking lot.

This Millville brand at Aldi resembles Kelloggs brands - for half the cost

Aldi is a no-frills supermarket that is almost entirely stocked with fictitious brand name products which often resemble their original, famous name, counterparts.  Strolling down the aisles is like visiting a supermarket from some alternate universe. We picked up boxes of items that were just like our favorite brands. Where they? They were so much less expensive! The labels on the items look almost like the labels of our favorite Kelloggs, Kraft, or Lays products, but they had entirely different names.

These "Lunch Buddies" resemble Oscar Meyers "Lunchables" but for a lot less money. Same company? You be the judge.

Aldi keeps it’s prices down because they sell the most popular selling items. These are the types of items that move quickly and do not take up valuable shelf space.  There is no deli, bakery or butcher at Aldi which is another money saving measure to keep the amount of foods that spoil to a minimum.   There is a cooler section that sells dairy items and the price of one gallon of milk at Aldi sells for $1.99 versus $3.39 for the Publix store brand. Aldi also carries frozen foods and has a large produce section.

Check-out is no frills. They label their items with multiple UPC codes so the clerk does not have to turn your items around to scan them.    Customers are encouraged to bring their own reusable bags as Aldi charges .11 cents for each one they provide.  There are no baggers at Aldi.  Once your items are paid for, there is an area where customers can bag their own groceries.  Don’t bother bringing your checkbook or credit cards: Aldi only accepts cash or a debit card.  I like this store and it’s prices so much that I will be back to get some of these bargains.   Take a drive to Aldi and check it out for yourself.

Aldi is located at 3301 North State Road 7 (441) in Lauderdale Lakes.  This is only 3.7 miles from the Woodlands Country Club. Open Monday-Friday 9am-8pm, Saturday 9am-8pm and Sunday 10am-7pm.  Beer and Wine are also sold at this location.