ALDI — Local services in Gainesville

Aldi offers a “No frills” approach to grocery. with decent economical savings. Don’t expect to find ‘fresh dill weed’ in their refrigerated produce case. A good amount of their produce stays unrefrigerated, and I’ve noticed it spoils more quickly because of it. They have zero baggers and do not offer free sacks unlike other groceries. Use one of their boxes left over from stocking, or bring your own reusable bags. Don’t even try to telephone them to see if they have your favorite cereal in stock.They do not even pretend to answer the phone for customer service. Furthermore, I do not recall ever hearing one iota of music, classical or otherwise. Would be splendid if they did! How much could that cost them?

On some more positive notes, Aldi offers a great selection of affordable cheeses, grated and otherwise. Unique affordable gifts pepper one of the front aisles (eg. Queen Thermal blanket cost a mere $15 last week) Aldi, being a German company, imports and offers excellent Belgian chocolates for a fraction of the cost elsewhere. At Christmas, they offer a tin of “Mexican Wedding Cookies” which I would swear were homemade.(Quite delectable) Their Almond Kringle (pastry) is a delight to taste, but sells out before you can say, “Jack Sprat”! Jack MIGHT be nimble and quick if He would stop eating these above cheeses and confections! As I have adjusted to their spartan quirks, I like shopping here, and have even enjoyed boxing my own groceries. Boxes are easier to carry out than plastic sacks! No boxing gloves...

Great GREAT value on groceries at Aldi. I did my Thanksgiving shopping here and saved a pile of money. They do have everything you need, but only one brand, which can be both freeing or frustrating if you are insistent on getting a name brand product. It amuses me because they model each products packaging after the more popular name brand so it doesn't entity look like you have cabinets full of the cheap stuff - smart marketing.

Favorites? An incredible international cheese collection. Inexpensive lunchmeats. So many delicious, unique cookies. Their frozen lasagna is better than Stouffer's. A varied collection of yummy, value priced wines.

Downsides? Don't forget your quarter to get a cart. You'll get it back at the end though.

Remember your grocery bags! You can buy some there but just bring the reusable ones and save money and the planet!

Wildly busy! I find going during busy times pretty stressful. The store is crowded and then I have to pack my own groceries at a crazy bustling counter with 30 other rushed shoppers and their families. To have a more peaceful visit, I go during quieter times and it's fine.

Did I mention the cookies? Yeah, if you have no self control like me, you'll wind up going home with five kinds of cookies and your husband will go in the pantry and give you a look that says maybe you went a...

It's a chain, so I gave it my standard 3 star rating of chains. However, if you've never shopped at an Aldi's, it's a little different from your standard grocery store. For starters, bring a quarter, you'll need one to rent a grocery cart. You'll get it back when you return the cart. They keep their prices low by selling their own brand products on nearly everything. They have very few name brand products. If you see a weird flavor combination that you never would have thought of at Aldi's, it's either going to be the most amazing thing you've ever tasted or completely terrible. There is no in between and you just have to try it to see which it is. Finally, you'll need to bring your own bags/boxes. They don't supply any and they don't bag groceries. They put them back in your cart. There is a fairly wide counter along the wall after checking out which you can use to bag/box your groceries. Personally, this is a feature I LOVE because I hate the way modern groceries stores put 3 things in a bag and double bag your milk (which has a handle and doesn't even NEED a bag), and send you home with 20 non-recyclable plastic grocery bags. The only down side to Aldi in my opinion is that they have short hours, opening after 9 a.m. and closing...