Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>
> What do you know about them?

We've had one here for at least a year. I've been
twice. The first time was because I got their sale
flyer in the mail and they had those large Arizona
teas for $.59. So I went and stocked up on the raspberry
tea. I looked at their other stuff and was not impressed.
The produce looked awful. I might try some of their unheard-
of-brands of frozen foods because they're pretty cheap.
I was mainly looking for a good deal on breaded shrimp.
I never buy it in the supermarket because the prices are
ridiculous. I used to get a 2 or 3 lb. box at Food4Less
at a really great price but they closed several years ago
and I haven't had shrimp since. I was hoping Aldi's
would be an alternate source of shrimp. I'm not sure
I would try too many of their unheard-of-brand items
though.

I've been there twice in the last year. I might
check them out more often if they were closed to me
but they're kind of out of the way. I watch their
flyers in case they have any good deals on any brand-name
stuff I might want.

> First thing I noticed was that peple were getting their shopping carts
> from outside the building, not inside. Whatever.

Ah, but you have to put a quarter in the slot to get a cart.
I've been lucky that someone has offered me their cart for
free as they were leaving.

> I knew that I had to
> pay in cash and I knew that they charge for grocery bags if I didn't
> bring my own. I'm not crazy about the cash only, but that's how they do
> it and they've got an ATM inside and they do take SOME debit cards (mine
> would work).

Yeah, I'm glad they take debit cards because I never have
cash on my anymore.

> I didn't pick up a cart because I wanted to keep my
> spending low and limiting it to what I could carry seemed like a good
> way to achieve that. :-)

That would work for me as I wouldn't even go in. ;-) I need
the cart to hold me up. (I need to lean on it because of my
back.) I get one even if I'm only buying a loaf of bread!

> I spent $6.34, most of it in the produce department. I didn't plan to
> buy grape tomatoes, but they were 99 cents for a pint (very tasty they
> are, too); I didn't plan to buy mushrooms but they were 99 cents for a
> pint and looked good; I needed fresh garlic and two heads for 49 cents
> seemed reasonable (I'll see how fresh it is, I couldn't check there and
> haven't yet); a bunch of celery was 89 cents -- that seemed reasonable.

I'm very surprised that the produce was good? Our here has
really horrible produce.

> Then there was the strange little section that looked like it could have
> been Sam's Club -- there was a lounge chair (in a box) for sale, along
> with some other non-food stuff. Seemed very out of place.

Ours here is not at all like a regular supermarket, more
like a Dollar General or Big Lots with lots of non-grocery items
but more real food items.

> When I checked out and paid, I asked the cashier if I could assume that
> since the packaging on so many things was so similar to the national
> brands, that they were in fact made by the same folks. She said I can
> assume that. Swell.

I think that most store brands and generic stuff is actually
made by a major brand company but just package differently. Of
course they will never tell you which company it is. I have
on rare occasions had a generic product that was as good or
better than most of the major brands. A lot of store brands
at the regular supermarkets are very good. But others are not.
I guess it depends on which company makes them.

> The other thing I noticed was that that shopping
> cart outside could be procured for use for 25 cents - but you get your
> quarter back when you check out. Cool. They do it to keep carts out
> of the parking lot, I guess. I have no problem bringing my own bags
I don't recall getting a quarter when checking out. Or is that
when you put the cart back in the cart stand that you get your
quarter back? I wouldn't know as I gave mine to someone else
so I didn't actually put it back in the stand. And I certainly
didn't get a quarter back at the cash register.

Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?

Kate Connally wrote:

> I don't recall getting a quarter when checking out. Or is that
> when you put the cart back in the cart stand that you get your
> quarter back? I wouldn't know as I gave mine to someone else
> so I didn't actually put it back in the stand. And I certainly
> didn't get a quarter back at the cash register.


the one near my house requires that you slide a quarter into the little slot
on the cart to unlock it from the rack and you get the quarter back when you
put the cart back in the rack.

"A.C." > wrote in message
...
>
> Kate Connally wrote:
>
> > I don't recall getting a quarter when checking out. Or is that
> > when you put the cart back in the cart stand that you get your
> > quarter back? I wouldn't know as I gave mine to someone else
> > so I didn't actually put it back in the stand. And I certainly
> > didn't get a quarter back at the cash register.
>
>
> the one near my house requires that you slide a quarter into the little
slot
> on the cart to unlock it from the rack and you get the quarter back when
you
> put the cart back in the rack.


Hate that! The interesting thing is that the one store here with that
system dispenses the gigantic plastic children-movers without the need for a
quarter. It isn't unusual to see some 20 something guy without any kids
pushing one of these monstrosities.

They opened an Aldi's on the edge of Detroit/suburbia a few years ago. I
was in it once, just to look, never went back or bought anything.

The shelves, at least in this store, were much much lower than in a
traditional grocery store. I'm 5'10, I'll bet the shelves didn't reach
my shoulders, and that's with merchandise on the top shelf. The
shelves/aisles ran the length of the store, so when a cashier looked
out, they could see everything and everyone in the store. And there was
a huge living room picture window sort of thing against the back wall,
one-way glass. Call me paranoid if you want to, but I had a feeling like
someone was sitting behind the glass with a shotgun just waiting for
someone to act up.

It all troubled me so much I never went back.

Does anyone have the dollar store "Deals' by them? They have nice prices
(it's a dollar store, everything is a dollar) and carry a wide array of
food items, as well as the usual dollar store merchandise.

You know those big bottles of IBC root beer or cream soda? In the
grocery store they run around $1.59, $1.79. Just a dollar at Deals.

On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 14:24:58 -0500,
Sharon Chilson > wrote:
>
> They opened an Aldi's on the edge of Detroit/suburbia a few years ago. I
> was in it once, just to look, never went back or bought anything.
>
> The shelves, at least in this store, were much much lower than in a
> traditional grocery store. I'm 5'10, I'll bet the shelves didn't reach
> my shoulders, and that's with merchandise on the top shelf. The
> shelves/aisles ran the length of the store, so when a cashier looked
> out, they could see everything and everyone in the store. And there was
> a huge living room picture window sort of thing against the back wall,
> one-way glass. Call me paranoid if you want to, but I had a feeling like
> someone was sitting behind the glass with a shotgun just waiting for
> someone to act up.
>
> It all troubled me so much I never went back.

LOL... "Pay no attention to the man behind the one-way
glass..." ;D


> Does anyone have the dollar store "Deals' by them? They have nice prices
> (it's a dollar store, everything is a dollar) and carry a wide array of
> food items, as well as the usual dollar store merchandise.
>
> You know those big bottles of IBC root beer or cream soda? In the
> grocery store they run around $1.59, $1.79. Just a dollar at Deals.

Yep, we have a couple of those, like really big dollar
stores. One of them near us actually carries some perishable produce,
oddly enough. I got avocadoes 2/$1 there--not huge ones, but hey, for
..50... They also carried milk and an assortment of frozen dinners. I
haven't really priced those, so I didn't know if it was a good deal or
not. I did, however, buy a big bottle of IBC root beer, it's
something I haven't had since I was a kid.

Ariane

Ariane Jenkins wrote:

> Yep, we have a couple of those, like really big dollar
> stores. One of them near us actually carries some perishable produce,
> oddly enough. I got avocadoes 2/$1 there--not huge ones, but hey, for
> .50... They also carried milk and an assortment of frozen dinners. I
> haven't really priced those, so I didn't know if it was a good deal or
> not. I did, however, buy a big bottle of IBC root beer, it's
> something I haven't had since I was a kid.


There was an article in the _Wall Street Journal_ or such like a whiles back
focusing on dollar stores. They are becoming a major force in retailing and
many manufacturers are producing products exclusively for placement in
dollar stores.

So I guess it's not just cast - offs or "odd lots" of stuff anymore...

--
Best
Greg

A.C. wrote:

>
>
> the one near my house requires that you slide a quarter into the little slot
> on the cart to unlock it from the rack and you get the quarter back when you
> put the cart back in the rack.
>


I believe that is SOP. I actually think it is a good idea after having
cars bashed by carts that were simply left out in the lot by
inconsiderate people who couldn't walk the 25 feet to put the cart in
the rack.

"George" > wrote in message
...
> A.C. wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > the one near my house requires that you slide a quarter into the little
slot
> > on the cart to unlock it from the rack and you get the quarter back when
you
> > put the cart back in the rack.
> >
>
>
> I believe that is SOP. I actually think it is a good idea after having
> cars bashed by carts that were simply left out in the lot by
> inconsiderate people who couldn't walk the 25 feet to put the cart in
> the rack.


My FBS and a buddy used make pocket change that way. They waited out in
front of the Super Fresh and asked the people leaving if they needed help
getting the cart to the car and that they would return the buggy for getting
to keep the quarter. My kid was one who was known by just about everyone
(inherited that my my father) so his approaching them wasn't a problem.
Most would let him keep the quarter AND sometimes give him a couple more for
helping them take the groceries out to the car. That was a good ten years
ago, but he is still proud that he was 'earning' $8-10 a day.
-Ginny

In article >, "A.C."
> wrote:
> the one near my house requires that you slide a quarter into the
> little slot on the cart to unlock it from the rack and you get the
> quarter back when you put the cart back in the rack.

I stand corrected -- especially since I didn't do it. :-) I was basing
my assessment on the fact that there was an empty cart at the cashier's.
--
-Barb, <www.jamlady.eboard.com> 2005 Pirohy Marathon pics added 1-23-05.
"I read recipes the way I read science fiction: I get to the end and
say,'Well, that's not going to happen.'" - Comedian Rita Rudner,
performance at New York, New York, January 10, 2005.