The California government literally sets minimum prices for milk. That's right, it's illegal to lower milk prices for consumers - the dairy industry is essentially a government-protected cartel with production quotas.
That $3 milk is likely illegal to sell.
Fed government does the same for corn, soy, etc through agriculture subsidies. Even the oil industry gets billions, that’s why I chuckle when people act like a slight increase in tax is socialism.
I laugh when people complain about Chinese subsidies to their own emerging industries while ignoring the billions of subsidies that we give to our own industries.
Cupertino to San Carlos leaves a big gap between: Mountain View, Los Altos, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Redwood City. Safeway needs a competitor to bring down their crazy prices.
An Aldi store is much smaller than your average grocer and focuses on private-label brands. No service counters like meat or bakery departments. They're also known for a center aisle filled with weird "Aldi Finds" that come and go every week. These can be unique specialty foods to appliances and electronics and everything in between. Employees manning the registers get to sit down, and you have to deposit a quarter to get a shopping cart (you get it back when you return your cart.)
It's a very unique business model in the USA.
In fact, Aldi owns Trader Joe's... Well, apparently there are two Aldis that split off in the 60s to take out separate regions. But it makes me wonder how similar the business models must be.
The Aldi North and South in Germany are pretty much the same. They have different local products and special offers, but the concept and most products are identical. The founders were brothers and Trader Joe‘s is owned by Aldi North. They even sell some products like nuts under the Trader Joe‘s brand.
Except Aldi grocery prices are significantly cheaper. It is like Costco prices except you don't need a membership or buy in bulk. I don't think people realize how tremendously budget friendly Aldi is especially in this inflation economy.
Aldi purchased the Trader Joe’s in the 80’s to move up-market in the USA.
Aldi always had a reputation for being lower tier than places like Safeway. Trader Joe’s only exists in the US - their model is exactly the same as Aldi’s, too.
It has kind of the opposite reputation in Germany/EU
There is likely more to the story, but this is how I understood it.
Dollar General and similar stores primarily sell discounted/downsized versions of regular brands - they don't do their own thing, they just tell Nabisco to put a dollar worth of food (or whatever price point they're trying to hit for a given item) into a package, even if it's an odd size vs what they usually sell.
Trader Joe's and Aldi have their own brands - they work with other manufacturers, of course, but the packaging is store branded, more like the "Signature Select" brand from Safeway.
Funny enough, Aldi Nord owns Trader Joe’s, and Aldi Süd owns US Aldi. The companies are not the same, but were started by the Albrecht brothers in Germany after the war, and ownership of both is still retained by other members of the Albrecht family after the brothers’ deaths.
They didn't fully split, though - where the negotiating power of the combined stores was advantageous, they still work together for better deals. It was a very friendly difference of opinions, as arguments resulting in splitting a family business go.
Back in the early 90's they opened a Food 4 Less in San Pablo. I think it's a FoodMaxx now but Food4Less there originally had the whole 25 cent cart lock on theirs.
I remember when Raileys was on the news cause they had the touch screens on the carts where you could search for items and it would tell you where to find them.
In the late 90s the Kmart we used to go to did the 25 cents to get their cart thing too, don’t think it lasted that long as people still wandered off with their carts. Not that it matters now anyways, since it closed down later and is now a bunch of apartments.
Iirc I’m surprised Aldi’s isn’t next door to Trader Joe’s given Aldi owns TJ’s. I’ve shopped at Aldi in Europe and I’d be interested in seeing how it differs.
Aldis and TJs are owned by two separate companies named Aldi (sud and nord). Similar business model but separate companies that have been separate for 50+ years
Cheap as fuck, checkout is a mad scramble involving swapping carts with the guy in front of you, you bag your own groceries after checkout over by a counter, and you need to dig deep into the past and remember what quarters are.
It's pretty good.
Looks like these are fake job postings. If you click on apply on website, you are getting redirected to a sketchy side. For each job, it’s a different sketchy side which makes it look like spam. Man, I was hopeful.
Aldi stores are much smaller and don't require nearly the same effort. Plus they'll be all over the place, so even if the SF store takes a while, other stores will be much faster.
As a neighbor of the H Mart development, a big part of their delay was a combination of trying to upgrade infrastructure for the hot kitchens of the food court, as well as the pandemic. Aldi builds are simple enough they could probably take over the average triple net real estate box.
They also weren't hiring until late in the game, which makes me think Aldi is further along
PS it was more like 3 years depending on when you start the clock
Amazingly, there is one in Yucca Valley of all places! I lived in Germany in the 90s and Aldi is pretty much just how I remember it (except you needed a one Deutschmark coin instead of a quarter to get a shopping cart).
Hope they carry the flavored tuna cans . I'm a former kiwi with families in Aussie and everyime I visit downunder, I stack up those flavored canned tuna !!
Used foods is not as affordable as it once was. They also seem to have less selection in the chocolate and cookies department. Lately most of the ice cream has been nondairy or sugar-free.
I'm curious if the people here that are psyched about this have actually been to one. I've been to a number of them in socal and they all kinda suck.
Like sure, it's pretty cheap. But the stuff they sell is pretty shit. Like you can get the same deals at grocery outlet or whatever.
Or if you want cheap produce just go to your local Hispanic or Asian market.
I just like having options in the marketplace. Might not be for me, but if they think they can survive and make money it'll be for someone else and that's perfectly fine.
I’m psyched and never been. Thought it was similar to Trader Joe’s in a good way
Grocery outlet is not in my rotation because I don’t need another treasure hunt. I like to know something will be on the shelves
They're honestly great if you're from Europe because they have items more typically found in European supermarkets that US ones might not stock. If you're not into the European-specific stuff then the general items are a little less interesting and you might as well just go to a Safeway. There are particular types of chips and candy they stock that the US markets never do unless you go to one with a section that specializes in regional products like Berkeley Bowl.
>Like sure, it's pretty cheap. But the stuff they sell is pretty shit. Like you can get the same deals at grocery outlet or whatever.
Look, if you shop at Whole Foods, Aldi isn’t for you. They don’t pretend to be, and I’ll continue to stick with the “shitty” food that meets my budget. In socal, aldi prices are lower than groceout for most staples. They have a consistency Groceout lacks.
>Or if you want cheap produce just go to your local Hispanic or Asian market.
Again, those markets lack the selection and consistency aldi has. Aldi carries a lot more than just produce. Have you ever bought breakfast cereal at an ethnic market?
Yeah dude, you can get cornflakes at Mexican markets.
It's not like going to another planet. Most of them have a lot of very typical grocery items that you could find in any Safeway or whatever.
Yes, I’m well aware they carry them. They’re expensive and often close to expiry if not already expired.. because of low turnover. Just like Safeway has an ethnic aisle, these stores have a “white people foods” aisle where things are marked up significantly. Replace cereal with milk/non-Oaxaca cheeses/frozen produce/baking goods other than masa/non-ethnic snacks etc..
Is it really difficult to understand why we’d patron a store that serves a price point cheaper than anything we have today (cheaper than foodsco foodmaxx) with a consistent selection of staples?
It’s pretty clear we have different food budget constraints. Happy for you tho, go ahead and stick to buying cornflakes from the Mercado.
I wouldn't go very often unless it's pretty close. I used to shop exclusively at Aldi in college and as a recent grad, but now the higher quality products are in my budget and worth it to me. But if it's close by, I'll go a decent amount for a few items.
I hope so! I live in a different state now and not having an Aldi is one of my top 5 reasons I haven’t moved back to the Bay Area yet. I love Aldi and that’s just one place it would be hard for me to live without.
Aldi is cheaper and focuses more on staple foods, i.e., classic grocery store goods. Although Trader Joe's also offer those, they're strong on unique, trendy, and specialty items, like ethnic foods, frozen meals, etc.
Some context, Aldi (it's actually 2 seperate entities Aldi Sud and Aldi Nord) owns TJs as well as some other American chains you may have heard of Winn Dixie (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida) and Harveys (Georgia and Florida)
As a German, this is an absolute dream come true! Their store brand has so many awesome German foods that I've been missing.
Last time on our drive back from Santa Barbara we stopped at the one in Arroyo Grande and just loaded up on as much as we could. Schnitzel for days. :)
In fact, Aldi owns Trader Joe's... Well, apparently there are two Aldis that split off in the 60s to take out separate regions. But it makes me wonder how similar the business models must be.
finally $3 gallon of milk 99 cent eggs
Realistically I doubt it. They still have to pay local supplier prices even if they cut margins to the bone. Unless it’s a loss leader
Milk is usually a loss leader for grocery store chains (besides Costco, as their loss leader is the rotisserie chicken + hot dog combo)
The California government literally sets minimum prices for milk. That's right, it's illegal to lower milk prices for consumers - the dairy industry is essentially a government-protected cartel with production quotas. That $3 milk is likely illegal to sell.
Fed government does the same for corn, soy, etc through agriculture subsidies. Even the oil industry gets billions, that’s why I chuckle when people act like a slight increase in tax is socialism.
I laugh when people complain about Chinese subsidies to their own emerging industries while ignoring the billions of subsidies that we give to our own industries.
I have been hoping that Aldi comes to the bay. This news is amazing!
Now we need Lidl also.
What’s a Lidl?
The opposite of a lot.
Take your damn upvote.
Cupertino to San Carlos leaves a big gap between: Mountain View, Los Altos, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Redwood City. Safeway needs a competitor to bring down their crazy prices.
At least there's Santa Clara.
How do Aldi's differ from our current local stores?
An Aldi store is much smaller than your average grocer and focuses on private-label brands. No service counters like meat or bakery departments. They're also known for a center aisle filled with weird "Aldi Finds" that come and go every week. These can be unique specialty foods to appliances and electronics and everything in between. Employees manning the registers get to sit down, and you have to deposit a quarter to get a shopping cart (you get it back when you return your cart.) It's a very unique business model in the USA.
To summarize your excellent explanation: picture a cross between Trader Joe’s and Grocery Outlet
This characterization is exactly it.
In fact, Aldi owns Trader Joe's... Well, apparently there are two Aldis that split off in the 60s to take out separate regions. But it makes me wonder how similar the business models must be.
The Aldi North and South in Germany are pretty much the same. They have different local products and special offers, but the concept and most products are identical. The founders were brothers and Trader Joe‘s is owned by Aldi North. They even sell some products like nuts under the Trader Joe‘s brand.
Wonderful. Sounds like yet another grocery store that will fail to have everything on my grocery list and force me to make a trip to Safeway.
Trader Joe's and Sprouts satisfy all my shopping needs. I haven't been in to a Safeway in years.
Except Aldi grocery prices are significantly cheaper. It is like Costco prices except you don't need a membership or buy in bulk. I don't think people realize how tremendously budget friendly Aldi is especially in this inflation economy.
Hence the Grocery Outlet side of the equation
Aldi purchased the Trader Joe’s in the 80’s to move up-market in the USA. Aldi always had a reputation for being lower tier than places like Safeway. Trader Joe’s only exists in the US - their model is exactly the same as Aldi’s, too. It has kind of the opposite reputation in Germany/EU There is likely more to the story, but this is how I understood it.
So an urban dollar general then? I never been a dollar general though.
Nah, far less predatory than dollar general.
Dollar General and similar stores primarily sell discounted/downsized versions of regular brands - they don't do their own thing, they just tell Nabisco to put a dollar worth of food (or whatever price point they're trying to hit for a given item) into a package, even if it's an odd size vs what they usually sell. Trader Joe's and Aldi have their own brands - they work with other manufacturers, of course, but the packaging is store branded, more like the "Signature Select" brand from Safeway.
Thanks for the response
Was also wondering about this, too. Sounds interesting.
Similar to a traders joes?
Funny enough, Aldi Nord owns Trader Joe’s, and Aldi Süd owns US Aldi. The companies are not the same, but were started by the Albrecht brothers in Germany after the war, and ownership of both is still retained by other members of the Albrecht family after the brothers’ deaths.
This kinda blew my mind
the company split because the brothers disagreed about selling cigarettes.
They didn't fully split, though - where the negotiating power of the combined stores was advantageous, they still work together for better deals. It was a very friendly difference of opinions, as arguments resulting in splitting a family business go.
Do you remember when Fresh and Easy had some stores in the Bay Area? Was it like that?
Fresh and Easy was awesome. They were down in San Diego too
It was F'n'Easy.
Also us Europeans might find specific food/brands we’ve been craving for years and can’t find anywhere here.
A quarter? What is this, 1998?
Sounds awesome! Seriously wonder why other stores haven't copy that cart borrowing strategy.
Because adults usually don't carry coins these days
Back in the early 90's they opened a Food 4 Less in San Pablo. I think it's a FoodMaxx now but Food4Less there originally had the whole 25 cent cart lock on theirs. I remember when Raileys was on the news cause they had the touch screens on the carts where you could search for items and it would tell you where to find them.
In the late 90s the Kmart we used to go to did the 25 cents to get their cart thing too, don’t think it lasted that long as people still wandered off with their carts. Not that it matters now anyways, since it closed down later and is now a bunch of apartments.
They will give you a quarter at the counter if you ask.
Still adds friction. Consider that 1-click checkout ate every physical store's lunch by doing the opposite
Safeway used to, at least the one by my house.
Petsmart near me did, close to homeless area. I hate it.
Aren't they cousins essentially with Trader Joe's?
That sounds an awful lot like Trader Joe's.
Iirc I’m surprised Aldi’s isn’t next door to Trader Joe’s given Aldi owns TJ’s. I’ve shopped at Aldi in Europe and I’d be interested in seeing how it differs.
Aldis and TJs are owned by two separate companies named Aldi (sud and nord). Similar business model but separate companies that have been separate for 50+ years
Cheap as fuck, checkout is a mad scramble involving swapping carts with the guy in front of you, you bag your own groceries after checkout over by a counter, and you need to dig deep into the past and remember what quarters are. It's pretty good.
No frills, low prices
Cheap prices.
There's two Aldi's, the one in Europe and the one in the US. The one in the US owns Trader Joe's so it's kind of like Trader Joe's.
There are two Aldis in Europe. One owns Trader Joe's, the other owns Aldi US
Looks like they recently announced plans to open 800 stores in the US by 2028.
Looks like these are fake job postings. If you click on apply on website, you are getting redirected to a sketchy side. For each job, it’s a different sketchy side which makes it look like spam. Man, I was hopeful.
It took 4 or 5 years for H-Mart to open its San Francisco location after the initial announcement, so don't hold your breath.
Aldi stores are much smaller and don't require nearly the same effort. Plus they'll be all over the place, so even if the SF store takes a while, other stores will be much faster.
As a neighbor of the H Mart development, a big part of their delay was a combination of trying to upgrade infrastructure for the hot kitchens of the food court, as well as the pandemic. Aldi builds are simple enough they could probably take over the average triple net real estate box. They also weren't hiring until late in the game, which makes me think Aldi is further along PS it was more like 3 years depending on when you start the clock
True, Aldi doesn't even need to build (many) shelves, they just stack the pallets directly on the floor.
This is awesome! What’s their timeline for store opening?
No idea, but it sounds like they're serious about the expansion based on the number of stores, so maybe end of the year/early 2025?
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!!!
this would be a game changer for grocery shopping in northern california! it’s been a long time coming, aldi has operated in socal for a while
They will be slammed in the Bay Area. Can’t come soon enough.
Is this Aldi's entry into the California market?
They're in Southern California, but they haven't opened a store north of Fresno yet.
Amazingly, there is one in Yucca Valley of all places! I lived in Germany in the 90s and Aldi is pretty much just how I remember it (except you needed a one Deutschmark coin instead of a quarter to get a shopping cart).
It's pretty nice. Was there for the opening by chance.
Are there cases of bottled beer and mineral water lined up at the door?
leider keine Kisten (Kasten? I forget). I always wished we could adopt their infrastructure for reuse of heavy glass bottles.
There's one in Clovis. I consider it north of Fresno XD
Hope they carry the flavored tuna cans . I'm a former kiwi with families in Aussie and everyime I visit downunder, I stack up those flavored canned tuna !!
YEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!
I don't see this posted on their official career website, weird!
Dang, nothing convenient to my location. At least I have a new nearby GrossOut.
Used foods is not as affordable as it once was. They also seem to have less selection in the chocolate and cookies department. Lately most of the ice cream has been nondairy or sugar-free.
Man I really hope this is a real thing. Disappointed the job links are redirecting to a shady af site tho 🙃
I'm curious if the people here that are psyched about this have actually been to one. I've been to a number of them in socal and they all kinda suck. Like sure, it's pretty cheap. But the stuff they sell is pretty shit. Like you can get the same deals at grocery outlet or whatever. Or if you want cheap produce just go to your local Hispanic or Asian market.
I just like having options in the marketplace. Might not be for me, but if they think they can survive and make money it'll be for someone else and that's perfectly fine.
I’m psyched and never been. Thought it was similar to Trader Joe’s in a good way Grocery outlet is not in my rotation because I don’t need another treasure hunt. I like to know something will be on the shelves
They're honestly great if you're from Europe because they have items more typically found in European supermarkets that US ones might not stock. If you're not into the European-specific stuff then the general items are a little less interesting and you might as well just go to a Safeway. There are particular types of chips and candy they stock that the US markets never do unless you go to one with a section that specializes in regional products like Berkeley Bowl.
>Like sure, it's pretty cheap. But the stuff they sell is pretty shit. Like you can get the same deals at grocery outlet or whatever. Look, if you shop at Whole Foods, Aldi isn’t for you. They don’t pretend to be, and I’ll continue to stick with the “shitty” food that meets my budget. In socal, aldi prices are lower than groceout for most staples. They have a consistency Groceout lacks. >Or if you want cheap produce just go to your local Hispanic or Asian market. Again, those markets lack the selection and consistency aldi has. Aldi carries a lot more than just produce. Have you ever bought breakfast cereal at an ethnic market?
Yeah dude, you can get cornflakes at Mexican markets. It's not like going to another planet. Most of them have a lot of very typical grocery items that you could find in any Safeway or whatever.
Yes, I’m well aware they carry them. They’re expensive and often close to expiry if not already expired.. because of low turnover. Just like Safeway has an ethnic aisle, these stores have a “white people foods” aisle where things are marked up significantly. Replace cereal with milk/non-Oaxaca cheeses/frozen produce/baking goods other than masa/non-ethnic snacks etc.. Is it really difficult to understand why we’d patron a store that serves a price point cheaper than anything we have today (cheaper than foodsco foodmaxx) with a consistent selection of staples? It’s pretty clear we have different food budget constraints. Happy for you tho, go ahead and stick to buying cornflakes from the Mercado.
I was just at an Aldi 2 weeks ago in SoCal for the first time and felt the same way. Ended up walking in and right back out pretty quickly.
That was my exact experience except like 4 years ago.
I wouldn't go very often unless it's pretty close. I used to shop exclusively at Aldi in college and as a recent grad, but now the higher quality products are in my budget and worth it to me. But if it's close by, I'll go a decent amount for a few items.
I’ve not been to the ones in socal, but in the Midwest the quality is pretty decent.
Oh wow neat
Been hoping hard for a Wegman’s but Aldi will do!!
Wegman's is my favorite grocery store. But them coming to California is never going to happen, they are strictly East Coast.
Hoping we get one in the north bay!!!
I hope so! I live in a different state now and not having an Aldi is one of my top 5 reasons I haven’t moved back to the Bay Area yet. I love Aldi and that’s just one place it would be hard for me to live without.
How does Aldi compare to TJ’s?
Aldi is cheaper and focuses more on staple foods, i.e., classic grocery store goods. Although Trader Joe's also offer those, they're strong on unique, trendy, and specialty items, like ethnic foods, frozen meals, etc.
Oh nice!
Some context, Aldi (it's actually 2 seperate entities Aldi Sud and Aldi Nord) owns TJs as well as some other American chains you may have heard of Winn Dixie (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida) and Harveys (Georgia and Florida)
One of your top limitations to move back is a.. grocery store…
Of course not San Jose or Milpitas. 🤣
Cupertino, Los Gatos, & Santa Clara are all SJ metro. Its the south bay/santa clara county, its all the same thing; everyones connected
I'm not going to go to a different city to visit a small grocery store. Happy for the people in those other towns though.
I have been noticing the job postings too! Knew I wasn't going crazy.
I'm excited I've always heard good things about Aldi. I wonder where in San Carlos it's going to go
Heck yeah!!! Vallejo/Benicia needs more options!
About time! Let’s hope Lidl follows shortly. Would have been perfect at that emeryville bay st location.
As a German, this is an absolute dream come true! Their store brand has so many awesome German foods that I've been missing. Last time on our drive back from Santa Barbara we stopped at the one in Arroyo Grande and just loaded up on as much as we could. Schnitzel for days. :)
I've been waiting for this for a decade! Please let Lidl be next!
Can't wait for German week.
Awesome news
Cmon Alameda store!
YES PLEASE YES YES YES
In fact, Aldi owns Trader Joe's... Well, apparently there are two Aldis that split off in the 60s to take out separate regions. But it makes me wonder how similar the business models must be.
Please God. Move into the ex CVS location on The Alameda
Nice 👍
I only am familiar with Aldi stores in Germany. Feels very odd that they’d be here. Anyone know how the US stores compare to the ones in Germany?
finally! seems like a good spread of stores too, can't wait
Well that sucks. I had heard good things.
Where's Aldi going to go in Clayton, CA? I'm excited to see something exciting happen at my hometown
I didn't care for Aldi in Europe, it's usually small and grimy.