Another Change at Trail's End Takeout

[Seals 111]

I'd been to Aldi's a few times over the past few years but there wasn't one convenient until one opened on my route home from work last summer and now I'm a big fan.  Since there aren't a lot of choices I don't do the impulse shopping I do in regular grocery stores and I can get in and out pretty quickly. My grocery bill is definitely lower even on things I need to buy.   Store brands are good if carrying amusing names.  My son loves Cheezits -- at Aldi they're Savoritz cheese baked crackers.  I make him say that when he wants me to buy Cheezits.  They also carry some good German chocolate bars.   

[Travisma 1,317]

3 hours ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

Aldi.  Is a German owned and based company. Unfortunately the closest Aldi is about 25 miles away so we don’t shop there often. But occasionally I crave some German treats from my childhood  and I can always find something there to satisfy my craving. 

But I always forget to bring sacks.

And a quarter. Lol

Yes they are German, just like Lidl.

And Aldi owns Trader Joes !

[Travisma 1,317]

2 hours ago, ThemeParkCommando said:

It will be interesting to see if Aldi or LIdl can crack the HEB bubble in my neck of the woods.  HEB is a great chain, and South Texans are fiercely loyal to it.  The Aldi's chain is just starting to come into HEB territory.  The closest Aldi's to me is in Pflugerville, which is still a 2 hour drive.  HEB managed to push out the other major chain grocery stores in San Antonio.  If you don't shop HEB, you go to Walmart, SAMS, Costco, or the high end ones like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. 

That's like Harris Teeter in the Carolinas and TN.  They are pricey like Publix unless you get items on sale.  They have loyal followers.

Krogers is a big chain to fight also with their various subsidiaries.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

5 minutes ago, Travisma said:

That's like Harris Teeter in the Carolinas and TN.  They are pricey like Publix unless you get items on sale.  They have loyal followers.

Krogers is a big chain to fight also with their various subsidiaries.

Kroger owns Harris Teeter.  The Hairy Teets around me were rebranded to Krogers several years ago.  

[Travisma 1,317]

22 minutes ago, DaveInTN said:

Kroger owns Harris Teeter.  The Hairy Teets around me were rebranded to Krogers several years ago.  

My nephew in NC lives in the same area where Harris Teeter has their HQ, and the bigger store in town is where they do a lot of their test foods to see what sells.

 

Food Lion also has a HQ in that area.

 

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

1 hour ago, Travisma said:

Yes they are German, just like Lidl.

And Aldi owns Trader Joes !

I’ve never been to a Trader Joe’s but my German mother loves that place.  Now I know why. Lol. 

[tim5055 120]

4 hours ago, ThemeParkCommando said:

It will be interesting to see if Aldi or LIdl can crack the HEB bubble in my neck of the woods.  HEB is a great chain, and South Texans are fiercely loyal to it.  The Aldi's chain is just starting to come into HEB territory.  The closest Aldi's to me is in Pflugerville, which is still a 2 hour drive.  HEB managed to push out the other major chain grocery stores in San Antonio.  If you don't shop HEB, you go to Walmart, SAMS, Costco, or the high end ones like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. 

They are going to try. Same thing in the S/E, they are opening a few stores in Publix areas. 

[keith_h 420]

8 hours ago, Travisma said:

Seems like Lidl are opening stores in the mid-Atlantic states area.

A friend works in Raleigh and she said they opened one there last summer.

My nephew lives just above Charlotte and they opened one not far from him.

 I see member tags with NC, DE, and GA saying they are there or opening.

I hope they hit FL soon.

Then again, Aldi was in parts of NY long before they came to FL.

I have a friend that is in Europe now, and she found an Aldi in Austria, but they are called Hofer there.

Had the same logo on their signs.

 

Lidl has three stores in our area. The one in Raleigh is the closest but still 25 miles away. They were going to build one about 10 miles from us but canceled it shortly after Ikea cancled their store in the same proposed shopping center.

 

7 hours ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

Aldi.  Is a German owned and based company. Unfortunately the closest Aldi is about 25 miles away so we don’t shop there often. But occasionally I crave some German treats from my childhood  and I can always find something there to satisfy my craving. 

But I always forget to bring sacks.

And a quarter. Lol

I always stock up on the German Herring tins when they come around once a year as no place around here carries a similar product. We also like a number of their imported German products. At least from memory they are similar to foods my grandmother and her parents, all first generation Germans, cooked. Of course my great grandmother would not be caught buying a store made sausage any more than she would buy sauerkraut in a jar (that was in the crock by the stove). 

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

37 minutes ago, keith_h said:

I always stock up on the German Herring tins when they come around once a year as no place around here carries a similar product. We also like a number of their imported German products. At least from memory they are similar to foods my grandmother and her parents, all first generation Germans, cooked. Of course my great grandmother would not be caught buying a store made sausage any more than she would buy sauerkraut in a jar (that was in the crock by the stove). 

There is nothing better than homemade sauerkraut or home made red cabbage

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

23 hours ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

Aldi.  Is a German owned and based company. Unfortunately the closest Aldi is about 25 miles away so we don’t shop there often. But occasionally I crave some German treats from my childhood  and I can always find something there to satisfy my craving. 

But I always forget to bring sacks.

And a quarter. Lol

I have a similar attitude towards IKEA.  The closest one is 90+ minutes away, but every so often we put together a field trip. Aside from being happy wandering around the place for a couple of hours, I bring a cooler and load up on the Swedish meatballs. 

20 hours ago, Travisma said:

Yes they are German, just like Lidl.

And Aldi owns Trader Joes !

Sort of - it's a bit of a family saga. It started as one company and then when the 2 brothers took over from the father, there was a dispute and they split the company - one became "Aldi North" and became "Aldi South" - separately owned/operated companies.

Aldi South  = Aldi's

Aldi North = Trader Joe's

[Travisma 1,317]

5 minutes ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

I have a similar attitude towards IKEA.  The closest one is 90+ minutes away, but every so often we put together a field trip. Aside from being happy wandering around the place for a couple of hours, I bring a cooler and load up on the Swedish meatballs. 

Sort of - it's a bit of a family saga. It started as one company and then when the 2 brothers took over from the father, there was a dispute and they split the company - one became "Aldi North" and became "Aldi South" - separately owned/operated companies.

Aldi South  = Aldi's

Aldi North = Trader Joe's

In the US that's how it's split, but in Europe they both operate Aldis in different areas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldi

I think this is interesting...

Germany

The Aldi Nord group currently consists of 35 independent regional branches with approximately 2,500 stores. Aldi Süd is made up of 31 companies with 1,600 stores. The border between their territories is commonly known as ″Aldi-Äquator″ (literally: Aldi equator)^[16][17] and runs from the Rhine via Mülheim an der Ruhr, Wermelskirchen, Marburg, Siegen, and Gießen east to just north of Fulda.

The former East Germany is served by Aldi Nord, except for one Aldi Süd in Sonneberg, Thuringia, whose regional office is in Bavaria. The regional branches are organised as limited partnerships with a regional manager for each branch who reports directly to the head office in Essen (Aldi Nord) or Mülheim an der Ruhr (Aldi Süd).

In December 2002, a survey conducted by the German market research institute Forsa found 95% of blue-collar workers, 88% of white-collar workers, 84% of public servants, and 80% of self-employed Germans shop at Aldi.^[18] One of Aldi's direct competitors internationally is Lidl

 

The Aldi group operates over 10,000 stores worldwide

 

It's pretty impressive no matter how you look at them.

 

And yes over the last few years their prices have risen, but so have all the other grocers.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

3 hours ago, Travisma said:

In December 2002, a survey conducted by the German market research institute Forsa found 95% of blue-collar workers, 88% of white-collar workers, 84% of public servants, and 80% of self-employed Germans shop at Aldi.^[18] 

Wow - that is indeed impressive.

It's interesting around here because Whole Foods, Aldi and Trader Joe's have been building new (huge) stores all very close together, and also close to the long-time local favorite chain Market Basket who has also been building huge new (awesome) stores all over the state.

I can't speak to Aldi, but it seems the competition (and Amazon buying Whole Foods) is keeping prices from getting ridiculous (accounting for just general national trends) and in some cases is actually keeping them down.  Low enough that they've essentially driven Stop n Shop and Shaws out of the state. In our town Stop n Shop built a brand new store across the street from the one tiny old Market Basket here in town. It rarely had more than a dozen cars in their huge parking lot, while the MB was consistently packed with all registers going nearly all the time, and closed after a handful of years. (It's now a massive Goodwill)

While Market Basket is my go-to for awesome selection and great prices, there are some things on my regular shopping list that are significantly cheaper at Trader Joe's. Fortunately they're across the street from each other across the river in Nashua.  And on the other side of town, there's an Aldi, Whole Foods and Market Basket within 1/2 mile of each other.

We are definitely spoiled for choice around these parts.

[Travisma 1,317]

40 minutes ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

Wow - that is indeed impressive.

It's interesting around here because Whole Foods, Aldi and Trader Joe's have been building new (huge) stores all very close together, and also close to the long-time local favorite chain Market Basket who has also been building huge new (awesome) stores all over the state.

I can't speak to Aldi, but it seems the competition (and Amazon buying Whole Foods) is keeping prices from getting ridiculous (accounting for just general national trends) and in some cases is actually keeping them down.  Low enough that they've essentially driven Stop n Shop and Shaws out of the state. In our town Stop n Shop built a brand new store across the street from the one tiny old Market Basket here in town. It rarely had more than a dozen cars in their huge parking lot, while the MB was consistently packed with all registers going nearly all the time, and closed after a handful of years. (It's now a massive Goodwill)

While Market Basket is my go-to for awesome selection and great prices, there are some things on my regular shopping list that are significantly cheaper at Trader Joe's. Fortunately they're across the street from each other across the river in Nashua.  And on the other side of town, there's an Aldi, Whole Foods and Market Basket within 1/2 mile of each other.

We are definitely spoiled for choice around these parts.

I've only been to Trader Joe's a few times in Omaha and here in Tampa.

I found that their prices seemed pretty high on most items, especially fresh meat.

Same with Whole Foods, but I haven't been in since Amazon took over.

We have a Save and Pack which is even more stripped down than an Aldis.  It's at the end of our street, but I still usually drive by to go to Aldis about 2 miles away.

We have a fairly new contender in town called Sprouts.  When they have a sale the prices are good, but if the item isn't on sale it's a pricey place.  Lots of Organics and healthy stuff.

Then we have Publix, Winn-Dixie, some Hispanic markets that are owned by Winn-Dixie, and Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets (just groceries).  The one closest to use is nasty, usually dirty, boxes in the aisles, rude workers and ruder customers.  There is a nicer one closer to where my daughter lives.

 

My daughter in Minneapolis has Cub, Wal-Mart, just got an Aldi a few blocks from her house along with a huge HyVee.  That place is impressive.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

1 minute ago, Travisma said:

I've only been to Trader Joe's a few times in Omaha and here in Tampa.

I found that their prices seemed pretty high on most items, especially fresh meat.

Same with Whole Foods, but I haven't been in since Amazon took over.

The meat at TJs is high here - but I think that's because it's generally organic or small-farm sourced.

Whole Foods is still changing.  I have noticed prices come down some since Amazon, and they've sometimes run great sales where something is cheap enough that I'll make a trip over just to stock up on a couple of things.

Ours also has an amazing cheese dept and some really good prepared foods.  There's a tavern attached also that has a huge selection of craft beers/ciders on tap and makes some of the best pizza around.

[keith_h 420]

14 minutes ago, Travisma said:

I've only been to Trader Joe's a few times in Omaha and here in Tampa.

I found that their prices seemed pretty high on most items, especially fresh meat.

We don't do much shopping there but they are the only place I can get certain cuts of meat that were common on the West Coast. Tri-tip in particular. While it is still more expensive than West Coast grocery store prices it is a lot less that the old fashion butcher shops in my area.

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

3 hours ago, keith_h said:

We don't do much shopping there but they are the only place I can get certain cuts of meat that were common on the West Coast. Tri-tip in particular. While it is still more expensive than West Coast grocery store prices it is a lot less that the old fashion butcher shops in my area.

 Being from California I love tri-tip. Around here we have to go to a butcher or Sam’s Club to buy it.   I guess I need to go to joes and compare prices. 

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

3 hours ago, keith_h said:

We don't do much shopping there but they are the only place I can get certain cuts of meat that were common on the West Coast. Tri-tip in particular. 

Now that you mention it, that is the only place around here I've seen tri-tip.

[LONE-STAR 370]

This thread has really gone off the rails.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

11 hours ago, LONE-STAR said:

This thread has really gone off the rails.

Does that surprise you? 

[ftwildernessguy 778]

HIJACK!

[keith_h 420]

12 hours ago, LONE-STAR said:

This thread has really gone off the rails.

I've never seen tri-tip on the Trails End menu but would certainly welcome the change if they did.

How's that for returning to the subject?

[Travisma 1,317]

15 hours ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

 Being from California I love tri-tip. Around here we have to go to a butcher or Sam’s Club to buy it.   I guess I need to go to joes and compare prices. 

https://www.modbee.com/living/article3129400.html

Tri-tip: California's cut is gaining fans from coast to coast

When it comes to beef, tri-tip rules as the king of the California grill. Now, this humble, easy-to-cook cut is gaining a toehold in other parts of the nation and is even wowing diners in the Big Apple.

Sporadic consumer demand outside California has spurred Costco, other national chains and regional grocers, to supply what the California Beef Council has officially dubbed "California's cut." The council has fielded so many requests from people in other states longing for tri-tip that it posted a meat-cutting chart on its Web site (www.calbeef.org).

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

45 minutes ago, keith_h said:

I've never seen tri-tip on the Trails End menu but would certainly welcome the change if they did.

How's that for returning to the subject?

Well done sir!

And yeah, this thread has gone off the rails old-school style.

[ftwildernessguy 778]

When we lived in California we shopped at the Piggly Wiggly

[Travisma 1,317]

1 hour ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

Well done sir!

And yeah, this thread has gone off the rails old-school style.

Shh, don't let the admins know, we all might get evicted!