Red alert! This is not a drill. Pumpkin spice has landed. Form an orderly line and head over to Aldi's ASAP to stock up on this once a year treat!
Think of Aldi's as the estranged brother of Trader Joe's. The abbreviated history is that Aldi's and Trader Joe's were owned by German brother's who fell out over whether or not to sell cigarettes. One headed the chain that became Aldi's and the other chain became Trader Joe's. While Trader Joe's has great prices, Aldi will beat them and just about everyone else's prices every time. You can still signs of that German heritage all over Aldi's like in their German line of products called Deutsche Kuche, which offers offers beer, chocolate, roasted coffee, and uncured Bavarian bratwurst.
If you want to save money on groceries Aldi's is a great way to do it. In order to bring you those low prices Aldi's has instituted some cost cutting measures. If you want a cart you will need to bring a quarter and to get your money back you need to return your cart from the parking lot back to the store saving employees from having to collect the carts. You will also have to bring your own bags or pay for theirs. Lines will most likely be long because they keep their staff to a bare bones minimum. Best of all is the check out. To get people through the line more quickly they will literally throw your groceries into the cart they keep chained at the check out. You will frantically try to grab your items out but will never be fast enough. I used to just carry groceries around the store in bags I brought but getting my own cart has made the checkout process a lot smoother so now I always keep a quarter hanging in an Aldi's keychain made for that purpose attached to my purse. I have noticed that a lot of stores are leaving carts where the quarter slot is locked in the parking lot for shoppers but not at this store so bring your quarter.
This store held their grand opening on December 19, 2019 and it still looks brand new! This is one of the cleanest and neatest Aldi's I have ever been in. One of my favorite things about shopping at Aldi's is the seasonal items and now it is pumpkin spice time. Grab your pumpkin spice candles, soft caramels, pretzels, cookies, artisan crisps, cheesecake drizzled popcorn, coffee, bundt cakes, bagels, and almonds. I love their $3.99 candles that fit the same holders as the much more expensive Bath and Body Works candles. I can't live without their cheap kale and spinach, Asian bagged salads, queso, chips and crackers, French roast coffee K cups, microwave risotto, and reduced calorie orange juice. It is so much fun discovering new products like the chocolate stuffed marshmallows and hard root beer. I picked up the crock pot ready beef roast with onions and potatoes for an easy meal.
There are always new things to discover while you save money. There wasn't even a line at checkout. Soon it will be favorite time of the year at Aldi's, Ocktoberfest when they roll out the schnitzel, spatzle, Bavarian pretzels, and strudel. I always stock up on the German specialties. The more I shop at Aldi's, the bigger fan I become. I even converted my daughter. Some times I watch the videos on You Tube where people will take on the challenge to do a weeks worth of grocery shopping here for $10. It includes chicken drumsticks and bagged rice. For even more tips, hints, and camaraderie join the Aldi Facebook group. read more