Aldi Grocery Store

Trader Joe’s brother! (Literally)
I’ve been looking for something like Trader Joe’s since arriving in Northern Michigan from So Cal.
Great prices on everything, household items, snacks, produce, etc.
The first couple times I went to Aldi my bill was about half of what I thought it would be.
Bring a quarter for your cart or bring your own bags.
Oh, and debit/​cash only!

They had some good prices. Pretty good selection, more variety on produce would’ve been okay, but overall a nice variety of items to shop for. Aisles on the narrow side. Good deals to be had in most categories, paper goods, frozen, cereals, meats, etc.
I second what a previous reviewer said about bringing your own cloth bags.

So far I’ve shopped here 5 times. 3 of which I had great coupons. The brands are theirs, so if you’re out for brand names, you won’t find many here but there are some GREAT savings to be had. Here’s some of what I love: $ 1.59 pineapples, great milk, egg and bread prices. The Fit and Active brand is great, I’ve used and loved the soups, snacks and cereal. Frozen seafood prices are fantastic. It takes getting used to (bring bags and a quarter for a cart that you get back) but it’s absolutely worth it. My first trip, I spent $ 123 and would have EASILY paid double that anywhere else.

Quick Tip: bring your own canvas/​paper grocery bags.
Quick Note: They don’t take credit cards! Just debit cards, cash and EBT cards.
Brand new discount grocery store next to Office Depot and Home Depot. ALDI claims to save shoppers up to 50% over supermarket prices.
So how do they keep their prices down?
*You need to shag your own carts. As an added incentive, the grocery carts are locked together, you pay a $ 0.25 cent deposit to use the cart. When you return your cart to the entrance area, you can get your $ 0.25 cents back. (Sort of like the cart rental fees at the airports, you get your money back if you return the cart to the proper location)
*You need to bag your own groceries. The plastic bags are located in the front of the registers, a location that most people don’t think of, so remember to grab a few plastic bags BEFORE you run your groceries through the check-​out. The cashier places all of your goods back into your cart and you are expected to move to the back counter and proceed to bag your own groceries. It’s a bit of a learning process at first, but it makes sense.
Many of the produce prices were cheaper than other local stores in the area. They do carry wine and a few home good items that normally don’t sell at grocery stores (Elliptical Trainer, juice extractors and other assorted items that you’d never think of purchasing at a grocery store).
The best thing about this store is the convenience of «easy in and out». If you need a few produce items and are short on time, then this is a good store to stop in and quickly get out. Upon leaving the store, I overheard a woman say to her husband, «This is much easier than shopping at Wal-​Mart». Time will tell if this statement holds true. I sure hope that the check-​out process continues to be speedy and quick.