Good News! Aldi Plans To Open A Store In Nokomis! (Sarasota: house, buying)

[wondermint2]

Aldi plans to open a store in Nokomis - News - Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Sarasota, FL

I'm so glad to hear this news! Now I won't have to shop at the cr*ppy Walmart store in Osprey or the overpriced Publix store. I used to shop at Aldi in St. Louis, MO and I loved it. But since living in Nokomis, Aldi was too far away for me to drive. Now with the new Aldi being built it will be very convenient for Nokomis residents.

Competition is a good thing. Walmart needs to get it's act together and Publix is a good store but prices tend to be high.

[Nancy in Nokomis]

Good news

[gypsychic]

I am glad for you on the south side. ALDI is a great store, you cannot beat the prices for the quality.

[Headacher]

How nice that Nokomis is preparing for my and my wife's arrival to the area which we hope will be soon! The article states that the Aldi will be built on vacant land on 41 just north of Laurel Road. It will be between the CVS and the Dunkin Donuts/Speedway. Perfect, as we're interested in the Mission Valley area. We love Aldi's products and prices. Can't wait to get down there. (We're still stuck in Ill-Annoy for a little while yet.)

Wondermint2, you made my day by posting this.

[CTC]

I don't get Aldi
I went to the one in NP and found the quality to be very poor
Ended up throwing away most of it
No need to go to another one
But to each his/her own

[MattMN]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

Aldi plans to open a store in Nokomis - News

I'm so glad to hear this news!

Agreed! Thanks for sharing @wondermint2

Originally Posted by Headacher

How nice that Nokomis is preparing for my and my wife's arrival to the area ...

Same! Although we're moving to Nokomis before the store arrives.

Originally Posted by CTC

I don't get Aldi
I went to the one in NP and found the quality to be very poor
Ended up throwing away most of it

CTC are you referring specifically to produce? Aldi has lots of great choices and prices throughout the store. But the one area of caution is definitely produce. They have great prices on this stuff too (mangos and avocados!), but you definitely need to examine it all carfully before purchasing. Some stuff tends to last a while (celery, peppers), but a lot of it is really only good for a few days at most (strawberries, grapes).

So I'd encourage you to give Aldi another try, but know produce specifically can be hit-or-miss.

[loves2read]

Originally Posted by CTC

I don't get Aldi
I went to the one in NP and found the quality to be very poor
Ended up throwing away most of it
No need to go to another one
But to each his/her own

We have Aldi very close to our TX home and I have been there a couple of times over the years--
I find it depressing--
Not well lighted
Difficult to move along the aisles because they are narrow and people don't have much room to maneuver when there are several carts or people w/kids---
The same can be said about other stores of course but Aldi's aisles are shorter because the stores are smaller and you have to make more turns...
And the checkout process is very slow because they don't bag your groceries--
You have to move to separate counter if you weren't able to sack them as checker totaled them...

They don't offer as many options either--because of how they operate--and most brands are Aldi's so you have to learn about their products which can take time/money--

I found a bag of oranges the last time I was there (one reason I went because my husband loves navel oranges) and almost every orange was moldy
I know you can sometimes find bagged produce w/that problem at other stores--but every orange was rotting-To me that means little quality control from people who do the buying/stocking...

Aldi's is an acquired taste as far as I am concerned...
That location is very close to the Publix on Laurel...and south of the new Sprouts going in across from the mall.
Will be interesting to see how well it does--
There are plenty of people bargain shopping in this area...

[Headacher]

Oh, loves2read, your post is so depressing. I don't know if it was a previous post of yours or someone else's, but I know I've written previously in this forum the likes of what I'm about to write.

That Aldi you've been to in Texas is obviously a very old Aldi. The new Aldi stores, like what will be built in Nokomis, are BIG, with wide aisles and nice big windows along the upper walls which let in beautiful, bright sunlight. At night, there is plentiful bright lighting.

Here in ILL-ANNOY, there was one of those small, cramped, windowless Aldi stores in Crystal Lake near where I live. Like the Aldi near you in Texas, it was an old, cramped store. A new Aldi opened in Cary IL and it's a pleasure to shop in.

And guess what? Aldi recognized that the store in Crystal Lake wasn't an attractive place to shop so they built a brand new store also in Crystal Lake and then shut the old one down.

I am sorry to read about those oranges you saw that were moldy. I recently bought a package which had about 12 oranges in it for $1.98 and each orange was absolutely delicious. I will write though that during Halloween, I did come across one smooshy pumpkin in a bin in which every other pumpkin was fine and huge and only $2.99. Not bad. Similar sized pumpkins at the local Jewel/Osco were $5.99. And at the pumpkin farms they were around $12.99!

I'm not certain why the checkout process is slow in that Texas Aldi, unless you're including the part about having to bag your own groceries. The checkout at every Aldi I've ever been in is lightning fast exactly because they don't bag your groceries.

Also, many Aldi products are actually manufactured by companies that make big-name products found in the expensive supermarkets like Publix, Winn-Dixie and our Jewel/Osco. Aldi just puts their own product names on them. You can pay around $3.98 for a box of Corn Flakes at Jewel/Osco or $1.49 for the same Corn Flakes at Aldi except in an Aldi box. Which makes more sense?

Well, now I'm sounding like I must own stock in Aldi, which I don't. I'm just a very satisfied customer. I just wanted to write this so that anyone who might read this thread will have two views of Aldi stores. That's all. I hope you'll try the new Aldi when it opens in Nokomis, just to see the difference for yourself. Take care!

[loves2read]

You don't need to patronize my comments if you disagree--

The Aldi store I mentioned that is near my TX house is probably 5 yrs old--
But there is a newer one built about 5 miles from my house finished this summer that is not that much larger
The store sizes are determined by the size of the lot--and likely has something to do with the price for land available...

Grocery shopping choices are made by personal preference as much as any other type of shopping---
If you like Aldi and think you get fair value then I guess you are shopping there
For me, I am not even curious to see what that Aldi looks like inside after it is open for business...

The Sprouts though is one I will check out when it's done...

[MattMN]

I'm a big Aldi fan, because you can get good products at great prices. In fact, they have a lot of unique items like Trader Joes, because Aldi and Trader Joes are owned by the same parent company. While they have a lot of products, you'll probably need to supplement your Aldi trip to a larger grocery store for some items or fresher produce. Per my previous post, produce specifically can be hit-or-miss, but when you learn to look it over carefully, you can get some good stuff and excellent prices.

But to be clear, a trip to Aldi isn't going to be like going on vacation; if you want fancy treatment, then feel free to go to a fancy store and pay fancy prices.

Yes, the new store layouts vs the old stores can vary. But when they are busy, you may have to navigate around some people. You will have to use a quarter to get a cart (which to be clear, you get your quarter back when you return the cart). There will likely be a line to check out, but it's a fast line. And they will put all the groceries back in your cart and you will need to move over to the bagging counters and yes, bag them yourself with the reusable bags you need to remember to bring. (Or you can buy bags there.)

So as loves2read points out, your shopping is a personal preference. But as long as you know what you are getting with Aldi, once you go a few times, you learn to navigate the process fairly well and it can be a decent shopping experience. And your checkbook will thank you.