Shoppers clustered outside discount grocer Aldi on Thursday, waiting for the doors to open to the public for the first time. Because of the anxious crowd, employees opened up earlier than planned, said Bob Schmalz, Aldi director of store operations.

 

By Friday afternoon, curious customers were still flowing steadily into the intimate supermarket on Aloma Avenue in the Aloma Square Shopping Center, east of Winter Park.

 

Shopper Carmen Rivera of East Orlando said the store reminded her of a small wholesale retailer because of the stacked cardboard containers of products — Aldi does this to cut the cost of stocking shelves. 

 

"The prices are reasonable — it gives you a break," Rivera said.

 

A "specialty discount grocer," Aldi sells mostly its own brands; part of the reason for this, the chain says, is that it saves consumers up to 50 percent on purchases compared with traditional supermarkets. 

 

For example, a gallon of milk at Aldi is $2.79, compared with $3.79 at another local grocery store.

 

The store brands are always tested against the national brands to make sure they meet or exceed national quality, Schmalz said.

 

Geneva resident Randy Deavers, shopping with his wife, Cindy, said it's natural to be wary of the quality of an unfamiliar store's brands. "We've got half a buggy full," Randy said with a laugh. "I guess we'll see when we get home."

 

But if a customer isn't satisfied with a product, Aldi's "double guarantee" replaces the product and returns the money, Schmalz said.

 

Aldi also keeps costs low by having customers bag their own groceries and having a coin-operated shopping cart system — return the car, get your quarter back — so employees don't have to retrieve carts.

 

Customers roamed the three-cart-wide aisles Friday, grabbing food items for the coming weekend. The store is designed to let customers get in and out in 10 or 15 minutes, Schmalz said. The prices are clearly displayed and "the small format is easy to navigate."

 

One thing Rivera said she wasn't happy about was that Aldi does not provide grocery bags — a trait that Schmalz says takes some getting used to.

 

Plastic bags are 10 cents a piece, paper bags are 6 cents, and reusable canvas bags are $2.

 

Other grocers have also limited their use of plastic bags, including Whole Foods Market, which eliminated plastic altogether, for environmental reasons. But Aldi originally did it so they didn't pass on the cost to the customer, he said. "We did it before it was cool to do it," he joked.

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Specialty discount grocer Aldi is now open at 6766 Aloma Ave., east of Winter Park. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. Visit AldiFoods.com for more information.