Orlando Mom Blog, Reviews, Giveaways | Theme Park Mom

Three new Aldi food stores open today in the Orlando area.

The new store locations are:

• 2241 N. Citrus Blvd., Leesburg
• 14001 W. Colonial Dr., Winter Garden
• 7031 Narcoossee Road, Orlando

My family members in the Midwest have been shopping at (and raving about!) Aldi stores for the past couple of years, so I have been excited to see the chain’s Florida expansion.

I have been driving to a store about 30 minutes away from me every couple of months to get some great deals on staples and even gourmet foods. The Winter Garden store opening today is much closer to my home. But my true excitement is in watching the Aldi store construction on U.S. 27 in Clermont, just a 2-minute drive from my office! I can’t wait for that store to open later this fall.

Aldi is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany, and this chain is serious – very serious – about reducing operating costs. There are some great deals on high-quality food available at Aldi, but the shopping experience is different. Here are my tips for how to shop at Aldi:

Bring your own bags to Aldi. You know that stack of reusable bags that you sometimes forget when you head to the supermarket? You’re going to need them at Aldi. There are no free plastic bags available for your groceries. If you need bags, you can buy them (they are just a few cents each) at the checkout.

Also bring cash or a debit card. Aldi stores do not take checks or credit cards, only cash, debit or EBT.

You need a quarter to get a cart. That’s right, at Aldi, you will find the shopping carts locked together at the entrance to the store. To release the lock and get a cart, you insert a quarter. When you are done with the cart, you return it to the front of the store. When you lock it up, your quarter is released back to you.

Aldi stores are not giant boxes. It is a supermarket, but Aldi doesn’t carry the tens of thousands of grocery items that other supermarkets carry. This chain focuses on the fastest moving items in a smaller footprint. That means you may not find everything you need at Aldi, but I have found just about every common item on my list.

There aren’t many brand names. The majority of Aldi’s items are private label brands. They are a lot like the “store brand” items you see at other supermarkets – they resemble brand-name items, and some of them are probably produced by the same manufacturing facilities, but they are made under separate contracts with Aldi. You will see a few name-brand items in the store. Those are usually “special buys” in large quantities that are only available for a limited time.

There are few grocery shelves at Aldi. Remember when I said everything in this store is laid out to be efficient? That extends all the way to the way Aldi displays its items. Many items are packed in cases that can be stacked to display the food without needing a staff member to unbox and stock shelves.

Many Aldi items are seasonal or limited. Just because you see an item during your first trip to Aldi, don’t expect it to be there when you come back. While you will always find staples such as common cereals, milk, coffee, pasta and the like, much of Aldi’s inventory is there for a limited time. For example, during the holiday season when lots of people are entertaining, you will find many frozen appetizers at Aldi stores. But you won’t find those items during the summer. If you like something, you might want to stock up.

Aldi’s selection goes beyond the basics. Don’t think that you can only buy sugar and rice at Aldi. I have been surprised at many of the gourmet items I have found on the shelves – everything from goat cheese to frozen fresh pastas. But keep in mind that many of the more upscale items are the seasonal ones that won’t be in stock for long. I find this part of shopping at Aldi the most fun – I never know what I’m going to find.

Channel your inner bag boy (or girl). Aldi cashiers check you out by moving your groceries from your cart to a second cart they have in front of their check stand. (Don’t worry – there’s a quarter in that cart, too, for you to get back when you return it to the chain outside.) They scan very quickly, because most Aldi products have bar codes on multiple sides of the packaging to make the checkouts faster. When you have paid for your items, you wheel the cart over to a counter area in the front of the store to bag up your own items. Gotta love that German efficiency.

These tips should make your first Aldi shopping experience a little less uncertain. Leave me a comment and let me know how it went!