by Dennis Dalman
The Aldi discount store in Sartell hosted its grand opening starting with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 8:20 a.m. Nov. 16.
The new store is located in the River Crossings commercial development area just east of Riverside Avenue S. near Hwy. 15. Its address is 32752 River Oaks Lane. Three other businesses are located in that development – Mr. Carwash, Chipotles restaurant and a Starbucks coffee shop. Aldi is situated on ground high above the west bank of the Mississippi River near the Bridge of Hope.
Aldi prides itself on the highest-quality products that sell at discount prices.
Construction of the store began last May and continued all through the summer and into early fall.
Aldi store hours 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Sunday.
There are now 77 Aldi stores in Minnesota, including the one in Sartell. Aldi stores are owned by a company called Albrecht Discounts, based in Batavia, Ill. There are more than 2,000 of the stores in 36 states with more than 25,000 employees. The first Aldi store in the state opened in the Twin Cities in 2003.
In 1961, two brothers of the German Albrecht family founded the first Aldi discount store in Germany. Sixteen years later, in 1777, the company opened its first chain store in the United States – in Iowa.
The name “Aldi” is short for “Ahlbrect Diskont” (diskont being the German word for discount). It actually started in 1913 with a small grocery store in Essen, Germany established by Anna Ahlbrecht. That was shortly before World War I began. About a year after World War II ended in 1945, Anna gave the store to two of her sons, Karl and Theo, who eventually turned Aldi as a series of chain stores in many countries, eventually opening up in many countries, mainly in Europe. There are now a total of 12,000 stores in 19 countries.
In the St. Cloud area, there is also an Aldi store in Waite Park that has been open for many years.
Aldi’s customers are encouraged to bring their own bags to carry their groceries, although paper bags can be purchased at the check-out counters. After check-out, customers pack their own purchased into bags on a long check-out table that runs the length of the store near the entrance/exit. Customers should also remember to bring a quarter because a quarter must be inserted into a cart near the entrance to release that cart for shopping. When the cart is returned to the cart area, the quarter is automatically returned to the customer.
Aldi has self check-out options and a traditional check-outs operated by employees. One reason for Aldi’s fast efficiency check-out is that its products have multiple bar-codes on each item making it quick and easy to pass the items past the price scanner.
The Aldi store in Sartell as it looked while under construction in mid-October.
