- 655 S. Pennsylvania
- Lansing, MI 48911
- No Phone Number
- Website
The Aldi store on South Pennsylvania in Lansing.
A few weeks ago, I decided to give Aldi a shot for the first time in many years. I went to the store on Saginaw Highway (review HERE). The only thing I picked up was a bag of frozen chicken. We finally ran out of that chicken and I needed something for dinner, so I headed to the Aldi on S. Pennsylvania to pick up the same thing. I said in my last review that chicken was a test. It totally passed the test. It was just as good as chicken we’ve gotten from somewhere else and it was much cheaper.
The Aldi on S. Pennsylvania is set up like all Aldi stores. Since I was just going for chicken again, I didn’t grab a cart. It took me a little while to find what I was looking for this time. I went to the fresh meat case first hoping to find some ribs. There wasn’t a whole lot left there. Just a few pieces of chicken and some ground beef. I didn’t find the ribs, so I went looking for the frozen chicken breasts. I finally found the bag I was looking for after doing some digging in the freezer. Someone had put some flavored frozen chicken breasts in the box for the regular ones.
As I was starting to leave. A display behind me caught my attention. They had 6-packs of Goose Island Soda. Goose Island is a Chicago micro-brew that I used to drink every now and then when I’d visit Chicago. I didn’t realize they did soda and I was really surprised to see them for sale at Aldi.
There was quite a big check out line when I got ready to leave. Both people in front of me had carts that were spilling over. The lady in front of me offered to let me cut in line in front of her. I told her it was alright and that I wasn’t in a hurry, but she insisted, so I did. The guy in front of her really slowed things down. His cart was really overstuffed. He started throwing things on the belt and the cashier started ringing up. After he gets his car almost unloaded, he asks how much the bill was already. It was over $170. This guy only had $150 so he had to start cutting things. He had to go through the bill and try to do the math then find the stuff in his cart to get back to $150. If your on a budget and you can’t do math, bring a calculator with you. The check out line was growing and was probably 6 people deep now and there was only one lane open. A manager ended up coming out and opening another line while they were trying to figure out how to cut this guy’s bill.
My bag of chicken costs a little over $6. Aldi’s doesn’t take credit, but they do take debit and that’s how I ended up paying. I’m a convert now. I’m still not going to do the majority of my shopping there, but it’s nice to know there’s another option. We go through so much chicken at our house, I’m happy there’s a low cost alternative to the big box stores.
Mid-Michigan Dining 
I had no idea Aldi was stigmatized in the United States. I only knew Aldi from living in Germany until one popped up in Saginaw about 7 years ago or so. But in Germany it’s not much different: a lot of people refuse to go to Aldi because it’s a “poor people store”. I had a teacher there who just wrinkled her nose at the mention of Aldi and said, “I don’t shop there.” I say bring on the Aldi! They’ve got great prices and friendlier service than most! Plus they have some good European products like Wernesgruener beer from eastern Germany (very good and very very cheap for a high quality imported beer), coffee, chocolate…
It’s a totally unfair stigma. Hell, my grandma does the majority of her shopping there. She loves the place. The stigma comes from a time when buying generics was something people didn’t do. Now, buying generics is almost a thing most people are proud of.