ALDI — Local services in Lynchburg

I was particularly psyched out of my mind when I heard we were getting an Aldi.

Florida, the sunshine state. I'd found myself a year before our Aldi opened in the Tampa for a day and I wanted to bring back some oranges for the fam. As much as I wanted to find a roadside farmer peddling his wares, I was on a time crunch and stopped in at Aldi. First, off, I was unaware that orange crops aren't as plentiful in FL as they were when I was younger, 2nd of all I was disappointed to find the only oranges Aldi had were from CA. Either way, Aldi was the store I was in and I really liked it. From the carriage policy (it's a quarter that you retrieve after shopping) and their no bags unless you want to buy them rule, I was intrigued and excited by the selection. I felt like it was very similar to Trader Joe's. Sort of like a watered down, little brother.

I digress. Aldi opened in Lynchburg and I was excited. I dislike shopping at Walmart all the time and Aldi opened not much further down the road.

I gave Aldi in L-Burg 4 stars for 2 reasons. First, they are ALWAYS slammed (70% of my trips there), which makes it difficult to shop in a store 1/4 the size of your average grocery mart and second; I wish they were opened later. Often times I would take my business there, but they close at 8, which sometimes makes it difficult to get there and shop without being "that guy" who walks in the door last minute.

The prices are super great and the selection is fantastic. $2.99 for a bottle of decent...

Excellent selection. The bulk purchasing is great, hands down, I sort of wish they had grocery carts as I don't think they have any negative impact on the economy. I had heard people rave about Aldi but I just wasn't sure it would be my cup of tea but not only was it my cup of tea but it hit all my KPI's once I plugged it into my Power BI analytics software. Earlier in the day I was at the doctors office and somehow we ended up sparking friendly, neighborly conversations with, they mentioned a few things that about Aldi so I thought Id share. 1) although it is almost incomprehensible to wear cargo pants these days, as they largely became a no go, in like 2004....I still have one pair of cargo pants, so after the doctors appointment, I went home and changed. Why you ask? Well I figured, if they don't have grocery bags or they cost extra then I would utilize my cargo parkets as my plastic bags. It worked out perfectly, I put my 1lb bag of sliced peperoni's in my knee cargo pockets, all my cold cuts and cheese in the other. I put the bread in my front pockets, they smushed little bit but nothing crazy, I also utilized my belt and attached my milk and OJ(orange juice). The deodorant and the shaving cream went in my back pockets and I simply carried the important stuff, like the pork jowl and m&m's, by hand.....I've forgotten the other tip but I will come back and edit to bring you all the...

ALDI's is the best grocery store in Lynchburg, lacking only in space. It's a small location, but the amount they fit in is amazing. As with all ALDI'S, it's bring your own bag and buy a cart, which are both things that would be great to see in other shopping centers. The produce section is small but diverse, with fruits that may not be able to find elsewhere. This is also a vegetarian's paradise, with a fair amount of Impossible meat (aka meat substitutes) that are pretty close to the real thing. The prices are honestly unreal, and while there are some expensive items, most items here are so much cheaper than other stores that it throws off one's sense of prices upon leaving. These low prices are maintained, of course, by the few workers and limitations noted above (bring your bag small location etc) which means things are occasionally unstocked during busy times, and it's also a bit of a wait. The workers here, however, are ridiculously fast at ringing people up, so any wait is not for long. The bathrooms are generally clean. Everyone should at least try ALDI's. It's a...