It's official: Katy will become the next new slum (Sealy: low income, countertops)

[jubbie]

Originally Posted by Dopo

Hilarious,
there's an Aldi's smack right in the center of the best part of Overland Park, KS (South side of Overland Park)

Best Places to Live 2010 - Top 100: City details: #7 - Overland Park, KS - from MONEY Magazine

That's where I live

[magicoz]

Originally Posted by KerrTown

The article mentions the lack of differentiation between its competitors; basically what exactly made Albertsons different or more unique than Kroger, Safeway, H-E-B, and Fiesta?

Simple: the latter four chains, how they were 10 years ago, SUCKED! Albertsons ran the only supermarkets in Houston at the time that actually weren't filthy. I remember a certain Kroger (which is gone now) being full of cobwebs, and it was in a pretty decent neighborhood in case you were wondering. There was another Kroger (also gone now) which failed to remove "green meat" from the shelves in a timely manner. I heard rumors that Safeway had the same problem, and due to public reaction got rid of their Houston division 25 years ago (the one that became AppleTree). Food Lion left the Houston market because of a controversy about them putting harmful preservatives in their meat. Until a few years ago, there still were a lot of Randalls from the early 80's that were still open. Towards the end they were filthy too. H-E-B stores in the 90's were all small and cheap looking "Pantry Foods", a lot of which started as either Safeway/AppleTree or Food Lion. Fiesta and Food Town both have Third World standards for hygiene as well.

These were the only decent grocery chains in Houston in 2000: Albertsons, Rice Epicurean, and Randalls Flagship. And at least the Randalls and Kroger stores built from 1990 on at least looked inviting on the outside.

The acquisition which you mention was of American Stores, which really is just another name for the famous Acme chain of Philadelphia. Acme was a lot like the Philly/NYC/New Orleans chain A&P.

[Trae713]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

Bunker Hill HEB/Costco has cart parking spots EVERYWHERE. So I never see free-range carts there. I don't know what other HEB's do, but this plan works. 25 cents to walk the cart is going to be less effective than easy access cart parking.

People really making this a bigger deal than it is. Its not hard to put in a quarter for a cart. Either that or just get sone Aldi bags for like fifty cents and bring them with you to shop.

[Lije Baley]

Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv

A new grocer in town, but don’t forget your own bag | Prime Property | a Chron.com blog

Sounds good to me. I've never been to an Aldi store but have read about them several times and they seem like a chain that's run with efficiency in mind to keep prices down, rather than simple cheapskate-ness (is that a word?) like so many other budget stores.

I see it mentioned a lot how this chain stocks much less product than other stores (which could be one of the means by which they can keep prices lower while still maintaining quality). That's fine with me, because I'm sick of going into most stores and being faced with so many choices it gets confusing, not just because IMO their is so much needless overlap, but mostly because I wonder how much X food's quality - and especially its price - is being affected by all its various versions. For example, last year at an HEB store I finally stopped and counted all the various varieties of Chips Ahoy cookies. It came out to thirteen! I think that's ridiculous, mostly because most of the varieties were so far removed from the original Chips Ahoy that IMO they weren't even Chips Ahoys anymore!!

Quarter for a cart? Meh, big deal, you get it back when you leave. Bring groceries to your own car? Good for a bit of cardio and muscle tone. Bring your own bag? No problem, this planet doesn't have unlimited resources so we'd all better start facing that fact as soon as possible.

Plus these stores seem much smaller than the megahuge grocery stores that are everywhere nowadays which I don't like because it just takes too long to get anywhere in them plus they just feel.....overbearing? impersonal? I dunno, I just don't enjoy being inside them for long (yea I'm in my 40s so I'm cranky so get off my lawn! and insert Simpsons "Old man yells at cloud" pic here ).

[crbcrbrgv]

I think one of the best qualities about Aldi is that they generally pay very well. I want to say that store managers make close to 100k with bonuses and cashiers start out at 13 or 14 bucks an hour.

Not bad for grocery retail.

[blkgiraffe]

Originally Posted by Trae713

People really making this a bigger deal than it is. Its not hard to put in a quarter for a cart. Either that or just get sone Aldi bags for like fifty cents and bring them with you to shop.

I only carry bills. Change is for common folks!

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by jubbie

That's where I live

Based on <crbcrbrgv> that part of Overland Park should have become a ghetto about 1-2 years after Aldi's was built.
I lived there 6 years ago, so I bet you can't drive in front of that Aldi's after the sun goes down without getting shot (sarcasm)

[HoustonRonnie]

Oh, man! Now I have to be "strapped" when I go to Katy? Crap!

Ronnie

[crbcrbrgv]

Originally Posted by Dopo

Based on <crbcrbrgv> that part of Overland Park should have become a ghetto about 1-2 years after Aldi's was built.
I lived there 6 years ago, so I bet you can't drive in front of that Aldi's after the sun goes down without getting shot (sarcasm)

Overland Park?

I have relatives there. I know, shocking that a Jewish guy would have relatives in Overland Park.

[magicoz]

Sorry I misspoke, the Big Lots was a Randalls that moved, and not a Safeway/AppleTree.