According to my sources (the friendly cashiers and manager at the Aldi located on Liberia Ave. in Manassas) the newest Aldi in Northern VA is scheduled to open on Dec. 5th, 2009 ** UPDATED: OPEN HOUSE ON DEC. 4th 11 AM – 4 PM. GRAND OPENING DATE: DEC. 7th, 2009 AT 9 AM!** in the Portsmouth Shopping Center (10294 Portsmouth Rd, Manassas, VA 20109) in Manassas (just off of Sudley Road/VA-234 exit# 47 off of I-66). The opening date has been pushed back a few times, but I’ve seen official printed confirmation of the opening date. See my post here.
Aldi consistently has the lowest everyday prices on groceries in our area (that I can find!) including $1.99 for a gallon of milk, $0.30-$0.50 for a cucumber, less than $1 for a dozen eggs, bananas at $0.39 per lb, etc. I’ve written other posts about Aldi and my shopping experiences before, which have all been positive. I did want to point out that Aldi has its own unique “shopping culture” which is important to note before you shop there. Just yesterday I went to Aldi and at check-out noticed a “first-timer” who had 2 full-of-energy elementary school aged kids and her elderly mother along for the trip. She was a little slow loading her groceries onto the belt (which was no problem… I wasn’t in a hurry and there wasn’t a long line) and seemed a little confused that she had to buy bags, so she bought a reusable “green” tote. When everything was rung up she handed over her credit card and got upset when she found out that they didn’t accept credit cards, only cash or debit cards. She seemed flustered and upset since she bought a substantial amount of groceries and owed over $100 and didn’t have the cash or a debit card on her. She made the comment that she probably would never come to Aldi again since they don’t accept credit cards. The manager came out and explained their payment policy and that a lot of people don’t know the policy and run into the same predicament she did. If the bill had been $40 or less they could have possibly accepted a check. The lady’s mom pulled out her debit card, and all was taken care of.
I wanted to tell the lady not to be discouraged and to give Aldi another try (and bring some cash next time) because their low prices are worth it! On my way out of the store I noticed that the accepted payment methods are clearly listed on the front entrance window, but if you’re not looking at it, and just walking into the store without stopping to read it, it could be easy to miss (especially if you just automatically assume they accept credit cards like every other grocery store).
Has anyone else had any interesting trips at Aldi? Were you surprised by anything on your first visit like needing a quarter to use the grocery cart?
Hi my name’s Laura, the blogger behind Beltway Bargain Mom, and I’m a native of the Washington, DC metropolitan region. I’m a Christian, wife, mother of two and social media/web consultant so I wear many different hats and keep uber-busy… Typical Washingtonian! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you find this site useful for deals and frugal, family-friendly events here in our Nation's Capital!
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Thanks for the great post. I too am a huge Aldi fan and can hardly wait for the new store to open in Manassas. I drive over once a week from Haymarket and it is completely worth it. The new store will be very close to Bottom Dollar which is one of my other favorite places to shop. It will be an early Christmas present for me to have my two favorite stores so close!
Hi Kimberly, thanks for the comment! Nice to know another Aldi fan in the area, and it sounds like we both shop at the same Aldi. I am also looking forward to the new Aldi opening up off of Rt. 234 because it’s a bit closer to me. Glad to hear that you like Bottom Dollar too! My friend Holly has a blog in which she posts the Bottom Dollar weekly deals and coupon match-ups if you’re ever interested in checking that out.
For Aldi, it seems like pricing or specials may vary across different regions of the US, or even in the same state (my friend Holly thought that a gallon of milk at the Woodbridge Aldi was more expensive than the $1.99 gallon price at the Manassas Aldi). But there are various frugal bloggers that report the Aldi weekly specials and match-ups, such as Frugal In Virginia.
Happy shopping!
Laura
Im originally from Germany, so I love to have ALDI here. We live close to Leesburg and started driving all the way to Woodbridge before they opend the Store on Liberia Ave in Manassas. Hope they open a store in Sterling or Leesburg one Day. Love, love love the well known low prices from Germany and the German products they offer occasionaly and permanent (coffee, marmalade, chocolate).
I think it must be very strange for americans to put a quarter into the cart befor using it and get the refund after puttig it back to its place. There is nobody who is puttig the carts into their place and nobody packing your bags and you need to pay for the bags. But hey…that keeps the good prices low
Thanks for the comment!
I have to admit, I don’t just love Aldi because of the low prices (although that’s my main reason), but also because it originated in Germany. I have extended family in Germany and love the language; I have found that the Manassas Aldi on Liberia Ave (the same one you shop at) has some workers/managers that are German so I love practicing my Deutsch when I’m in the store! I asked if any of the workers at the new Manassas store (opening in less than a month!) would be from Germany, and the lady I asked wasn’t sure.
On a side note, I have a Euro-sized grocery token (I forget the German term…right now) that I used when I studied abroad in Germany, and still have it on my keychain today so that I can use it at Aldi when I get my grocery cart. Love it! This also proves that I never throw anything away