Crowds line up for opening of ALDI location in Montgomery

There wasn’t much pomp at the opening of Montgomery’s first ALDI grocery store.

Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange and others waited for a walk-through and ceremony for city officials that never happened. A thin crew of employees ducked outside moments before opening to quickly cut a ribbon. Even that took several tries. Then a store manager ushered people into the new East Boulevard building, which started construction just as the Best Buy next door announced that it’s closing.

But a line of hundreds stretched to the opposite end of the Woodmere Crossing Shopping Center, and they weren’t there for pomp.

“I love ALDI,” said Kris Foster, who was first in line. She arrived at 3 a.m. and passed the time reading a Bible and making friends.

The chain features an eclectic selection of merchandise — an opening day ad featured a scratching post and a burger — at discount prices. It’s a cost-cutting process that keeps administration and staffing to a minimum, yet that approach drew similar crowds at the opening of the Prattville store earlier this year.

“We do anything we can to give our savings back to our customers,” said Todd Gonzales, the company’s regional director of operations. “It’s everything from our lean staff structure to our quarter mechanism for our carts.”

Like other ALDI’s the store is staffed by a crew of less than 20 people, despite being open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week. You have to deposit a quarter to take a shopping cart. Return the cart and you get your quarter back.

“That’s what allows us to be able to provide some of these great prices,” Gonzales said.

Strange was all smiles at the opening despite the confusion.

“Anytime you’re the first, particularly in Montgomery, we’re going to celebrate that,” he said. “These successes cause others to have success. … If ALDI opens their doors and they’re going to be successful, then that means others will want to come.”

The company said the layout of the Montgomery store features expansive refrigeration space. It recently expanded its fresh food selection, with organic and easy-to-prepare options. The stores feature open ceilings, natural lighting and environmentally friendly building materials. It has a partnership with online delivery service Instacart.

Earlier this month, Best Buy announced its plans to move its Woodmere Crossing store to a new, multimillion-dollar development under construction on Eastchase Parkway. That shopping center plans to open this fall, but Best Buy has not announced the exact date of the move.

“When you get these large shopping centers that are owned by out-of-state (entities), there’s not a lot of local coordination,” Strange said. “The only time we really find out about it is when they start pulling plans. That’s a little late.”