417 replies to this topic

[basachs]

runawayjim, on Sep 20 2007, 07:10 AM, said:

wow... i googled this company and it's kind of an interesting idea.  i'm not sure i like all their cost saving measures though.  they have a cart deposit where you pay $0.25 to use a cart and get it back when you return it (so it doesn't get left in the parking lot).  they charge for bags to encourage people to bring their own.  they don't take checks or credit cards.  and they don't carry many (if any) name brands.

their website.

Glad to hear they dont accept checks...get into the 21st century people! I hate being behind a person with a check..and 99 percent of the time they never fill them out ahead of time either...

Edited by basachs, 20 September 2007 - 09:08 AM.

[runawayjim]

basachs, on Sep 20 2007, 11:08 AM, said:

Glad to hear they dont accept checks...get into the 21st century people! I hate being behind a person with a check..and 99 percent of the time they never fill them out ahead of time either...

i take issue with not taking credit cards.  sovereign bank prefers their customers to use their check cards as credit and not debit, or else they charge you.  but yes, not taking checks is great.  i think the only thing i still use my checkbook for is paying rent or giving gifts or donations.

[Liamlunchtray]

So am I right that the Aldi concept is a Price-Rite that isnt a mess? is there more to it than that?

[Liamlunchtray]

Well this is interesting - If Wikipedia is correct, it appears that Trader Joes is owned by one division of Aldi and the Aldi USA stores are owned by their other division.

[Recchia]

runawayjim, on Sep 20 2007, 07:10 AM, said:

wow... i googled this company and it's kind of an interesting idea.  i'm not sure i like all their cost saving measures though.  they have a cart deposit where you pay $0.25 to use a cart and get it back when you return it (so it doesn't get left in the parking lot).  they charge for bags to encourage people to bring their own.  they don't take checks or credit cards.  and they don't carry many (if any) name brands.

their website.

Sounds exactly like the PriceRite in Warwick.  they make you buy bags and give a quarter for a carriage.

[ruchele]

Recchia, on Sep 20 2007, 12:23 PM, said:

Sounds exactly like the PriceRite in Warwick.  they make you buy bags and give a quarter for a carriage.

The site says Aldi carries pretty much only their own brands.  It seems like this might be a bad fit for a community with such a large immigrant population.

[runawayjim]

ruchele, on Sep 20 2007, 04:47 PM, said:

The site says Aldi carries pretty much only their own brands.  It seems like this might be a bad fit for a community with such a large immigrant population.

or people who need kellogg's cereals.  

[Cotuit]

I'd be all for this. The city should be making some calls.

[citybuilder]

ruchele, on Sep 20 2007, 04:47 PM, said:

The site says Aldi carries pretty much only their own brands.  It seems like this might be a bad fit for a community with such a large immigrant population.

My mom swears by the "Aldi's" near their house in Ohio. Its got some great deals, mix of house brands and bulk buying of name brand groceries and other sundries. Re: its popularity with immigrants, the one I've been to is a popular favorite with the Latino worker population.

That Shaw's is a pretty big footprint though, I haven't seen an Aldi that big.

[ruchele]

Cotuit, on Sep 20 2007, 08:29 PM, said:

I'd be all for this. The city should be making some calls.

Here's a thread about Aldi, including some first-hand experience.

I dunno, folks.  This doesn't sound like any great addition to the Providence scene.  Personally, I have no reason to shop someplace with little fresh produce.

Also, the description on the Aldi website sounds like they are generally much smaller operations than the (former) Shaws.

Interesting that (according to citybuilder), Aldi is popular with immigrant workers.  It doesn't sound like they would carry many international foods.  Some of the folks who criticized the old Shaw's said it didn't work because there weren't enough Latin American products (which I thought was a totally bunk claim, since they had a frankly enormous selection of tons of products targeting Latinos.)

[runawayjim]

ruchele, on Sep 20 2007, 10:51 PM, said:

Here's a thread about Aldi, including some first-hand experience.

I dunno, folks.  This doesn't sound like any great addition to the Providence scene.  Personally, I have no reason to shop someplace with little fresh produce.

Also, the description on the Aldi website sounds like they are generally much smaller operations than the (former) Shaws.

Interesting that (according to citybuilder), Aldi is popular with immigrant workers.  It doesn't sound like they would carry many international foods.  Some of the folks who criticized the old Shaw's said it didn't work because there weren't enough Latin American products (which I thought was a totally bunk claim, since they had a frankly enormous selection of tons of products targeting Latinos.)

i, too, would be less likely to shop someplace where i couldn't get fresh produce.  i am not going to shop there to buy groceries and then drive across the city or to cranston to buy produce.

shaw's didn't work because their parent company didn't want it to work.  it closed, not because of what they carried or what the neighborhood was like, but because it did not fit what the parent company had as a vision for the company.

[Mothra]

Any grocery store that only takes cash will never make it here. People with means use credit/debit to track their spending and people without means use the state issued debit cards for WIC/Foodstamps.

The city should not put any time and energy into courting a store that only people with cash in their pockets can use.

[runawayjim]

Mothra, on Sep 21 2007, 08:03 AM, said:

Any grocery store that only takes cash will never make it here. People with means use credit/debit to track their spending and people without means use the state issued debit cards for WIC/Foodstamps.

The city should not put any time and energy into courting a store that only people with cash in their pockets can use.

read the site... they don't take checks or credit cards.  they take everything else, including debit cards and WIC/foodstamps.

[Cotuit]

Maybe they could use the oversized foorprint to bring a green grocer into the space alongside them. Or maybe someone just needs to practice some urban renewal Federal Hill style on the Shaw's box.

[citybuilder]

ruchele, on Sep 20 2007, 10:51 PM, said:

Interesting that (according to citybuilder), Aldi is popular with immigrant workers.  It doesn't sound like they would carry many international foods.

Caveat: I said the Aldi that my mother goes to is popular with Latino workers. My mother lives in southern Ohio. If you are an immigrant worker in that part of the country, you aren't exactly showered with Goya !

[Dan]

Cotuit, on Sep 21 2007, 09:39 AM, said:

Maybe they could use the oversized foorprint to bring a green grocer into the space alongside them. Or maybe someone just needs to practice some urban renewal Federal Hill style on the Shaw's box.

A green grocer would be great.

Your urban renewal idea sounds grand.

And ALDI at this location was only a prediction... but they are moving into the area at a few different sites.

Where is my fish market - Atwells and Dean?!  

-D

[eltron]

Just a Shaw's anecdote:

I was at Colt Park in Bristol yesterday, and stopped at the Shaw's in Barrington on the way back - the "international foods" section was horrendous compared to the Eagle Sq Shaws, but there was a much larger Wild Harvest section. Beyond that, the place was empty for a Sunday, there were 40,000 high school kids working and practically every register was open, and the meat, seafood, and produce section were ridiculously better than the PVD Shaws.

I'm just guessing, but i would be surprised if that Shaw's was much more profitable than the PVD one's, but probably much easier to run (no security detail, for example). Still, it was kindof shocking to see the disparity between the urban stores and the suburban, wealthier area stores.

[mimesis]

Not sure if this has been posted already but....  

Good news: Rhode Island is finally getting a Trader Hoe's!

Bad news: It's gonna be in *Warwick*!

http://www.projo.com..._v9.c463ea.html

[LegalEagle]

Are there any 24-hour supermarkets around anymore?  I know that at least one of the Stop & Shops in the area was once 24-hour, but isn't anymore.

[Garris]

LegalEagle, on Aug 10 2008, 10:21 PM, said:

Are there any 24-hour supermarkets around anymore?  I know that at least one of the Stop & Shops in the area was once 24-hour, but isn't anymore.

I thought the one off of Branch/West River was still 24 hrs...  Is it not anymore?