[Mpls] Aldi's is OPEN!!!!

[Emilie Quast]

And the shop at 13xx Franklin is just like the shops they have in France
and Germany so I'm happy.  

The produce is excellent; the meat looked wonderful!  They have my favorite
Belgian chocolates, staples at prices that compare with the Rainbow special
prices this week, canned goods/pasta/frozen selections/yadda that made the
place look like "good old Aldi's".  There will never be much selection.  I
think there were about 8 produce trays of mushrooms out, for example.  When
those get down to two, someone restocks.  That way they don't have to pay
for a larger store and the produce mostly stays in the cooler instead of
wilting on the floor.  I should point out that all eight trays carried
perfect mushrooms.

I am a little concerned that people won't understand how Aldi's works.  You
pay a quarter (I think--my daughter got our cart) to get a cart from a
locked rack.  You get the quarter back when you return the cart.  You
either pay for their bags, which are heavy duty plastic and reusable
several times, OR you bring your own bags.  You may also pick up the
grocery cartons they leave in the aisles.

No checks, and the debit cards they accept are not any that I carry.  They
prefer cash, anyway.

BUT, their standards are very high.  They work every trick they know to
keep their costs and prices as low as possible.

Since there was talk about some other grocery being picky about cashing
checks on the North Side, I thought I should mention that the Aldi's NO
CHECKS rule is the same rule they use in Europe, so I think that is a
company wide policy.  If anyone seems irritated about that policy, please
reassure them.  

Typical Aldi's: yesterday was the grand opening, and they were giving away
what looked like samples of bottled water and pieces of cookie.  Again:
that is the way they operate.

Emilie Quast
SE Como