FARGO — North Dakota’s first ALDI is now open.
A couple hundred shoppers began streaming into the grocery store at 4305 13th Ave. S. shortly after a ceremonial ribbon-cutting about 8:30 a.m. Thursday, June 20.
The store’s opening means ALDI now has more than 1900 stores in 36 states, Faribault District Vice-president Matt Lilla said.
ALDI also plans to open a second Fargo store at 3760 51st Ave. S. That store is being planned to open sometime in 2020, Lilla said.
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The Fargo-Moorhead metro area’s first ALDI opened in November 2017 at 833 34th St. N., Dilworth, Minn.
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The store is one of the bigger locations in the ALDI system, with about 12,000 feet of space for display and sale of food and other products. The building is about 22,000 square feet overall, an ALDI official said Thursday.
The store is part of an aggressive $3.4 billion expansion and renovation plan. The company intends to have 2,500 stores open across the U.S. by 2022, Lilla said.
ALDI said its expansion will add 25,000 new jobs in stores, warehouses and offices by the end of 2022.
The store is designed with more room to walk the aisles as well as open ceilings and natural lighting.
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Customers are greeted by fresh fruit and vegetables as they enter the store as part of a “fresh focus.” They then can filter towards breads, meats and deli cases in the back of the store, Lilla said.
The first 100 shoppers walked away with gift cards worth between $10 and $100 as part of the firm’s Golden Ticket giveaway. Shoppers can also enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win a year's supply of produce.
Virginia Bear is happy the Fargo store is now open. The Valley City, N.D., woman said she has made it a point to head to Dilworth to shop at that ALDI once it opened.
ALDI’s lower prices are a big draw, Bear said, adding “they have good fruit.”
Mia Lipscomb and Jacob Burger brought their 8-month-old Jett to Thursday’s event.
“It’s beautiful,” Lipscomb said of the new store. “We like shopping at ALDI. It’s cheap.”
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ALDI opened its first store in the United States in 1976 in Iowa. The first Minnesota ALDI opened in 2003. The company’s 1,900th store was opened in San Diego last week, Lilla said.
The low-cost supermarket chain got its start in 1946, when Karl and Theo Albrecht took control of their mother's grocery store in the German city of Essen. They eventually built it into one of Germany's biggest retailers.
Lilla said after ALDI opens its second Fargo store, it will evaluate the market and its store network and decide if any more locations are warranted in the F-M area.
ALDI has three stores in Sioux Falls, S.D., and plans more outlets there, Lilla said.
The Fargo ALDI is open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
