What Sioux City Families should know about Aldi

Sioux City's first Aldi store officially opened on 1/15/2021!

The grocer is the third largest in the US, so its no surprise that it's moving into more markets, including ours. Some local families may have shopped at one of the 3 Sioux Falls Aldi stores, or the one in Fremont, Nebraska! But if you're totally new to Aldi, there are some things you definitely need to know. I checked with some of my blogging friends from other parts of the Midwest to ask what us Aldi newbies should know, and here's their helpful advice, along with some basic info on the store, and some tips from me!

Where is the Sioux City ALDI?

ALDI Sioux City at 3140 Floyd Blvd, on the southeast corner of Floyd Blvd and Outer Drive, about a block north of Pizza Ranch. As of January 2021, it's open from 9am to 8pm all 7 days of the week. 

UPDATE: in late January 2022, it was announced that Aldi is building a second Sioux City store, and in late February 2022, they announced that it will be located in part of what used to be Gordman's, in Lakeport Commons! Construction is scheduled to be done in May 2022, so it's probably safe to assume a grand opening sometime this summer. I'll update again if I hear of a specific date for that!

What is ALDI?

ALDI or Aldi is a "no-frills" grocery store chain that started in Germany by a family named Albrecht as Albrecht Diskont. The two Albrecht brothers split the store chain into two groups, Aldi Nord and Aldi Sud, and it's now a global brand, with about 10,000 stores in 20 countries on 4 continents!

To keep prices low and provide great quality, Aldi does a few things a little differently than most grocery stores around here, including lots of store brands, requiring quarters for carts, and no bags! I'll explain more here:

ALDI store brands

One big thing new Aldi shoppers notice at first is the brands. Aldi sells almost exclusively store brands, which helps keep prices down. The good news about this, besides the price, is that Aldi shoppers rave about the quality of these store brand items! My faves so far are definitely their red bag chicken and their cocoa dusted chocolate truffles! 

Here's what some Iowa food bloggers shared with me about their fave ALDI items: 

• Michelle from Simplify, Live, Love adores the fresh produce and organic meat at Aldi! She uses ALDI produce & meat for her spinach mozzarella meatloaf and her strawberry shortcakes, and also has a great post about why she loves ALDI!
• Ally from Ally's Sweet & Savory Eats has a great post with 10 Healthy Meals Made With Aldi-bought ingredients, with delicious dishes like chicken pesto flatbreads, spinach & ham quiche on a hashbrown crust, and spicy taco soup!

Bring a Quarter

Dan from Country Pilgrim reminds us to bring a quarter! At ALDI, to get a cart, you have to put a quarter in the cart queue. But you get it back when you return the cart at the end of your shopping trip! While it can seem like a bit of a hassle, Dan says: "It helps encourage shoppers to return their carts so they don't leave them in parking lots at the end of the day and saves money on workers chasing down and returning carts - you get your quarter back after returning the cart."

Many regular Aldi shoppers choose to buy cute quarter holders to make sure they always have one on hand. There are lots of cute ones on Etsy!

Bring your own Bags

Tonya from Travel Inspired Living says to save money by bringing your own reusable shopping bags. ALDI doesn't provide bags for free like most American grocers! Most customers choose to bring reusable shopping bags, but they also sell a variety of disposable and reusable bags near the checkout, and they're pretty reasonably priced, so if you do forget in a pinch, you aren't totally out of luck! 

ALDI Finds don't last!

Several bloggers mentioned to be sure to grab seasonal items right away when you see them! Gretchen from Odyssey Through Nebraska mentioned the pumpkin ravioli and  Anita from Picnic Life Foodie loves the wine & cheese Advent Calendars, while Cindy from Travelling Adventures of a Farm Girl recommends the German Christmas Cookies!

"ALDI Finds" are limited time products that come out every Tuesday, so if you see one you love, get it on that shopping trip, because it might not be there the next time you are! ALDI finds are often seasonal items, so it makes sense that they'd rather sell completely out than have a lot of stock leftover after a holiday or season is over, but it means some items go really fast! 

For more information about ALDI Sioux City

To learn more about our Sioux City Aldi's store, visit the ALDI website or follow them on Facebook! Jamie from Cornfields & High Heels also recommends the ALDI Nerds Facebook group.

Thanks to all the bloggers who shared tips with us! I can't wait to shop at the Sioux City ALDI store now that I know all the secrets!