In the depths of Front Street, bountiful with food, cleaning supplies and every other knick-knack you can think of, is a supermarket of wonders. But just what is so special about this not-so-well-known place? The unbelievable prices. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to Aldi.
With incomparable costs such as $1.99 for a 16-ounce package of fresh asparagus, $2.99 for a 16.9-ounce bottle of olive oil or $19.99 for a Panini grill, Aldi has proven to save its customers nearly 50 percent on almost 1,500 of the most frequently bought grocery items. Weis and Price Chopper are fine alternatives to Wegmans, but this is a whole different level.
There are a couple of things you should be aware of before beginning your long and fruitful relationship with this supermarket Parthenon. First, it’s BYOB (as in bring your own bag). Part of the reason shopping at Aldi is so cost-effective is because of all the money they save on shopping bags. Customers do have the option to purchase Aldi shopping bags (which are reusable and long-lasting), but if you want to save even more you should come with a backpack and/or some plastic bags in tow. Second of all, credit cards are not accepted. Cash, debit cards, EBT and Link cards are the only ways to pay at Aldi. And finally, there is a quarter-deposit for a shopping cart. You stick a quarter in the top of the shopping cart, which will release it from the rest of its shopping cart buddies, and you get the quarter back when you return the cart. This is another way Aldi makes it possible to provide low-priced items; as it says on their website, “By not having to hire someone to police the shopping carts, we are able to pass the savings on to our customers.”
Aldi likes its products like I like my men — almost 100 percent exclusive. With the provision of lesser-known brands such as Nature’s Nectar and Choceur, Aldi is able to deliver high-quality products at low-quality prices.
“I’m so brand specific when it comes to my groceries,” said Victoria Kardonsky, a senior double-majoring in economics and psychology, as well as a loyal Aldi customer. “I was so nervous when I first went to Aldi that the food would be crappy and outweigh my excitement about all the savings. I couldn’t have been more wrong, and I do literally all of my food shopping there now.”
Aldi does not just provide the basics, either. You can find unbelievably cheap almond milk, agave nectar, truffle oil, goat cheese and so many more high-end products among the Aldi shelves.
Save a buck or two (or 100) and head over to Aldi. Give a college student a Wegmans, he’ll eat for a day. Give a college student an Aldi, he’ll eat for a lifetime.