[Mpls] Aldi's grocery at 13th and Franklin

[WizardMarks]

I'm going to take issue with Tim Bonham's post saying that the reason 
Aldi's is so inexpensive is that workers are not union. I don't think 
that is entirely true.
Here are the things that make it cheaper:

    * it is as plain as a mud fence
    * there are no brand names so you can't get Cheerios, oreos,
      Campbell's soup, Pepsi, Armor hotdogs, Hellmans or Kraft, or even
      Whiskas cat food. No Kleenex, for god's sake! You can get all that
      stuff, though. From what I brought home, everything is "packed for
      Aldi's" on the label--house brands.
    * there is no deli counter
    * there is no bakery counter
    * there is not a half mile of fresh produce, though there is fresh
      produce
    * there is no long aisle of different brands of bread
    * no whole aisle plus of frozen foods
    * bring your own bags, no bag packers
    * they don't accept most debit cards, but do accept EBT cards
    * no cigarettes
    * you can't do your banking at Aldi's

There were only six or seven employees in the store on Wednesday at 
10:00 am.

Now, it could be that the employees get wages equivalent to the unions 
without a union. That's been known to happen.

It's also at 13th and Franklin where land and buildings tend to be 
somewhat cheaper than in some other areas of the city.

It is spotlessly clean.

The drawbacks I noticed: no popcicles, no oreos, no deli counter. No 
bread dough. There were no foods specialized for Latinos, Asians, etc.

This grocery is strictly no frills, but you can get lots of what you 
need there for less than you have been paying.

And of course, the Franklin Bakery is only two blocks away and their 
stuff is to die for.

WizardMarks, Central