A new grocery store seems to pop up every week in South Florida.
Big boys in Florida, Publix, Whole Foods Market, Winn-Dixie, Walmart, Target, Costco, Sam's Club and BJ's get a run for their money from local chains Doris Italian Market, Joseph's Classic Market and Penn Dutch.
Those are joined by The Fresh Market, GFS, Trader Joe's, Save A Lot and the rapidly expanding Illinois-based Aldi from Germany.
Aldi, a discount chain with eight South Florida stores, opened a Fort Lauderdale location near my house on Dec. 19. Another is opening near Lake Worth on Jan. 23.
The German-owned chain has European quirks. You must deposit a quarter to get a shopping cart, which is returned when you bring the cart back outside the store. It charges for bags, so bring your own. Manufacturer coupons and credit cards are not accepted.
Aldi stocks 1,300 items, mostly private-label brands that look strikingly similar to the national brands (hint, hint) and come with a double-money-back guarantee.
I went on a shopping mission to see how Aldi's Simply Nature organic brand stacks up to Whole Foods' 365 Everyday Value and Publix Greenwise organic brands.
A half-gallon of organic milk at Aldi costs $3.49. It costs $3.99 at the other two. A pound of grass-fed organic ground beef costs $4.99 at ALDI, $7.99 at Whole Foods and $7.49 at Publix. A bag of organic Fuji apples cost $4.39 at Aldi, $7.47 at Whole Foods and $6.99 at Publix.
All of Aldi's brands exceeded my expectations. I'm glad Aldi popped up. I'll be popping in again. You should, too.
Read more: Doreen Christensen: Doreen's Deals: ALDI passes price and taste test - Sun Sentinel
Big boys in Florida, Publix, Whole Foods Market, Winn-Dixie, Walmart, Target, Costco, Sam's Club and BJ's get a run for their money from local chains Doris Italian Market, Joseph's Classic Market and Penn Dutch.
Those are joined by The Fresh Market, GFS, Trader Joe's, Save A Lot and the rapidly expanding Illinois-based Aldi from Germany.
Aldi, a discount chain with eight South Florida stores, opened a Fort Lauderdale location near my house on Dec. 19. Another is opening near Lake Worth on Jan. 23.
The German-owned chain has European quirks. You must deposit a quarter to get a shopping cart, which is returned when you bring the cart back outside the store. It charges for bags, so bring your own. Manufacturer coupons and credit cards are not accepted.
Aldi stocks 1,300 items, mostly private-label brands that look strikingly similar to the national brands (hint, hint) and come with a double-money-back guarantee.
I went on a shopping mission to see how Aldi's Simply Nature organic brand stacks up to Whole Foods' 365 Everyday Value and Publix Greenwise organic brands.
A half-gallon of organic milk at Aldi costs $3.49. It costs $3.99 at the other two. A pound of grass-fed organic ground beef costs $4.99 at ALDI, $7.99 at Whole Foods and $7.49 at Publix. A bag of organic Fuji apples cost $4.39 at Aldi, $7.47 at Whole Foods and $6.99 at Publix.
All of Aldi's brands exceeded my expectations. I'm glad Aldi popped up. I'll be popping in again. You should, too.
Read more: Doreen Christensen: Doreen's Deals: ALDI passes price and taste test - Sun Sentinel
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