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Aldi Ashburn Soft Grand Opening 11/09/17, Thursday

Discussion in 'Area Restaurants, Dining and Food' started by foodie, Nov 2, 2017.

  1. foodie

    foodie New Member

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    Just wondered how many of "y'all" are going to the new Aldi "soft" Grand Opening on 11/09/17, Thursday? When I was in the Sterling Aldi recently shopping, the manager said the opening should be around 9 a.m. or earlier, I believe. The new prototype of the Aldi store in Ashburn will have a bakery in its new store layout.

    We went to the Grand Opening to the Lidl in Manassas, VA in September and it was great and had a bakery. Since Lidl is Aldi's competition, that is why the new Aldi stores will have bakeries and the older stores will be remodeled with a bakery and space will be taken from the warehouse portion of the store--about 500 sq. ft. (per the Sterling Aldi manager).

    Hopefully, the store will have some good "deals". The Lidl stores are described on their European Facebook page as the "Ikea grocery store" with all the bright lights and good deals. The Manassas Lidl store had a dozen eggs for $.45/per dozen and organic milk for 1 gal. for $2.00 or so for their opening. So Aldi Manassas stores met their prices.

    Hope everyone has a good week--:)

    Foodie
     
  2. foodie

    foodie New Member

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    I forgot to mention that shopping at Lidl is like the quality of Wegmans meat and produce but cheaper prices. The organic meats and organic dairy and other organic products are great. Lidl reduces it items food 30% off its price and goes by its "sell by date" when marking down reduced items. You can get good deals daily or weekly. Just check it out if you are in Manassas.:pofl:
     
  3. foodie

    foodie New Member

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    I stopped today at the new Ashburn Aldi since they are having a "soft Grand Opening". :rtfm:It was a nice and large store with a bakery with fresh bread, donuts, and other baked goods. The produce and other items looked great and the prices were good also. You get a free Aldi shopping bag and if you ask the cashier at the register for an Aldi coupon $5/$30 coupon which is good from 11/09/17 to 11/25/17 only to be used at the Ashburn location.

    It was not crowded at 11 a.m. when they opened today. Have fun and report back your thoughts--good or bad?:D

    Foodieo_O
     
  4. Excelsior

    Excelsior Southern Walk||IMPERIUM IN IMPERIO||

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    We went around 4. There were quite a few people checking it out. The quarter in the cart thing is confusing, but whatever. The first thing that caught my eye was the alcohol. Someone let us know if the beer is any good. They had imitation Heineken, Corona, and Beck's (not the real thing). I couldn't bring myself to try it out for $6.50/6 pack.
     
  5. SK8R

    SK8R On the Clover Meadow

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    I stopped in for a quick look around yesterday around 1:00. I could not figure out the cart thing. Then I helped some old fella figure it out, so now I do know. I did not take a cart since I was not planning to fill up a cart, just look around.
    The store was full, many people shuffling around. Most of the cans and packages had names I have never heard of, but that is fine. I did not see anything that really interested me.... until I got into the stash of "Christmas food" and I picked up several packages of Stroopwaffels, Butter Spekulatius, and Lebkuchen. Then I stood in line for about 10 minutes. There are no bags, so if you pick up some stuff, graze the aisles and find an almost empty cardboard container, and use it to put your stuff in.... well, that is what I did :)
    I do not know if I will be going back here unless they continue to carry the 10 pack stroopwaffels for $1.99.
    My youngest daughter moved to Braemar with her wonderful hubby, and adorable baby. She went to the Lidl out there in Bristow. She said that store is just okay, much like Aldi, limited, mostly obscure brands, also full of wandering customers and long checkout lines and limited employees

    FOODIE SAID: "The Lidl stores are described on their European Facebook page as the "Ikea grocery store""

    :happythumbsup:I would love an Ikea in Loudoun County.
     
  6. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    Shopped there this weekend. Shopping cart was no big deal. Although people are already scamming the system....there was a chuck e cheese token in the one we used.
    There's a limited selection since it is a small store. Mostly their own brand names. But a lot of the things we bought were easily half the price at Harris Teeter. We have eaten several things we bought and have found the quality to be the same as HT, Giant, or other name brands.
    They do have shopping bags, paper or plastic, if you want them. But they cost 5-10 cents each. I don't need them because I keep two boxes in my trunk for when I shop at Costco.
    We will definitely keep this store in our shopping rotation for the things they have that we use because the prices are so low.

    Sunstoner: I bought a six pack of the bock beer. Too good a deal to not try it. I'll report back on the quality when I drink one.
     
  7. Zeratul

    Zeratul Well-Known Member

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    Yea its a fairly small store and good perhaps for some unique items. I was not impressed. At least for my family shopping interests, it does not fit a need.
     
  8. Excelsior

    Excelsior Southern Walk||IMPERIUM IN IMPERIO||

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    Yes, please do report back. I am very curious.
     
  9. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    The bock beer was decent. Brewed by a brewery I'm not familiar with in Belgium.
    A bit on the lighter side for a bock.
     
  10. Excelsior

    Excelsior Southern Walk||IMPERIUM IN IMPERIO||

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    I might check it out. Hopefully it's better than the WalMart beer, Rockdale Light. That stuff messed me up.
     
  11. PP-Power

    PP-Power Member

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    I don't see a need to scam the shopping cart system. You put a quarter in to get the cart out and when you put the cart back, you get your quarter back. Are people really that cheap and lazy that they can't live without a quarter for the 30 mins or so they'll be in the store?
     
  12. Excelsior

    Excelsior Southern Walk||IMPERIUM IN IMPERIO||

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    Generally no. People around this area are more in a hurry and don't want to be bothered with the nuisance of waiting in line to grab a shopping cart, digging through their pockets for loose change or for someone done loading their car with perishables in the trunk waiting to turn the cart in. The scene I witnessed last week was rather ridiculous. When they get busy, it is an inconvenience.

    Let's flip the question around: Is ALDI really expecting an issue with people not returning their carts that they institute a .25 cent deposit?
     
  13. JLC

    JLC Member

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    I always thought the reason behind it was so that they don't have to spend money on an employee walking around the parking lot collecting carts and bringing them back to the front of the store. The same with the do it yourself bagging. Those things contribute to being able to keep the costs of their products down.
     
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  14. KTdid

    KTdid Well-Known Member

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    That's the logic behind it. Saving money gets passed along to the shopper.
     
  15. Zeratul

    Zeratul Well-Known Member

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    It is a more common model in Europe... at least the few places I have seen. BUT, that is typically in areas that are not as "rich" as we are.
     
  16. Small Brancher

    Small Brancher Member

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    Overall not very impressed. Yes, cheap prices but a very limited selection of items. Many products have packaging that are very similar in look to prominent brands but with slight differences. A bit deceptive I thought. One checkout person with about 8 people in line. Probably will not return except to buy a last minute item. (And no Stroopwaffels as someone noted above - the reason I stopped. Guess they sold out)
     
  17. sri_n

    sri_n Member

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    With a community that has residents that don't bat an eyelid to pay 5 bucks to have someone else shop for them and then be able to have convenient curbsite pickup, will be interesting to see how this works out. All it takes is for someone to spend 2 hours on a weekday afternoon/evening at the Harris Teeter, and do a quick count of how many cars pull up for curbside pickup.
     
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  18. woopity

    woopity cdubs ya know!

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    I was generally surprised by the Winking Owl $2.89 bottle of wine....it was consumable and wasn't awful. I think it's better than Trader Joe's "2 buck chuck". I think we drank the Pinot Grigio and the Shiraz. Also--very pleased with the fresh chicken prices (haven't tried any of the other meats yet), the standard hambuger rolls were good ($.39 per bag---yes please)...and the Pretzel Rolls at the bakery are worth the trip in i think. I'm certainly not restocking my house in that store...but for a few staples to get dinner on the table that night---it's atleast half the cost, if not more, of the Teeter. The cart and bagging thing is irritating a little. They scan faster than most people can bag....so it becomes a hold up when it comes time to pay....but that annoyance won't keep me from going in.
     
  19. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    Just got back from Aldi again. This store is part of our regular shopping. Can't get everything there, but the savings on what I can get make it worth the trip.
    Just walked through the Lidl. It is significantly larger than Aldi. Assuming it has the same price model, Aldi may be in trouble when it opens.
    Walked through the Royal Farms as well.
    Both places look like they'll be ready to open in a few weeks.
     
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  20. Excelsior

    Excelsior Southern Walk||IMPERIUM IN IMPERIO||

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    Can't wait for Lidl.
     
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