LAVEEN, AZ — After an unexpected delay in December, Aldi opened the doors to its grocery store in Laveen on Friday, marking its sixth location in the Valley.
The Laveen store, located on Baseline Road, east of Loop 202 in Phoenix, was initially scheduled to open on Dec. 10, 2021. But, for unknown reasons, the opening was abruptly delayed (Aldi declined to answer questions about what led to the delay).
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The Friday opening is considered to be a "soft" opening. A grand opening is planned for Feb. 2, 2022.
Last year, Aldi opened stores in Gilbert and Queen Creek. In 2020, stores opened in Chandler, Goodyear, and Peoria.
Representatives for the discount grocer have previously said additional stores are expected to open in the market. Aldi has filed applications and initial permits in various cities and towns over the years but has not officially announced any more locations than the six that have opened.
Aldi typically makes an official announcement when construction has either begun or is well underway.
To keep its prices low, Aldi stocks most of its products from private labels vs. name brands, though it does carry some items from popular brands, like Coke, Capri Sun, Gatorade, and General Mills.
Other cost-saving measures: customers have to bring their own bags and bag their own groceries (bags are available for purchase should you forget), and carts can be rented for a quarter, which is returned when the cart is returned (this saves the company from having to employ people to wrangle carts in the parking lot).
Other than that, Aldi carries much of the everyday staples found in any other grocery store: milk, eggs, and cheese, fruit and veggies, meats and frozen pizza, cereal, and snacks.
