Business & Tech

ALDI Brings In Crowd Ahead Of Opening Day

The discount grocer is now open in Creve Coeur. Use Patch's new tool to help find the best deals near you.

For the first time in several years, the parking lot at the corner of Olive Boulevard and New Ballas Road was packed in Creve Coeur Tuesday, one day ahead of ALDI's unofficial opening in the city on Wednesday.

The store's "grand opening," complete with the requisite ribbon cutting, is set for Thursday morning.

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Curious shoppers toured the store Wednesday, tasting food and taking home samples. Store officials say as many as 2,500 people have come to similar events at other stores, although a smaller amount was predicted here.

"It's always been a good desirable market for us to get into and being that Creve Coeur is fairly populated with businesses, this one came available being a former Borders and we jumped at the opportunity when it did become available," ALDI executive Rob Jeffries told Patch.

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The store will have 14 permanent employees, although Jeffries said other staffers would be pulled in from other locations as the Creve Coeur location gets off the ground.

Jeffries said the company has enough parking on site, although it could be a concern in the early going.

Julie Gremaud came from Olivette with her kids for Tuesday's sneak peek. She said she was particularly excited about produce prices, and scoffed at some of who have questioned if the discount grocer is a good fit for Creve Coeur.

Read: Residents Rail Against Red Racks And ALDI

"I think people are excited and I'm glad its better than having an empty building sitting here."

The former Borders space will be subdivided to include other as-yet-unconfirmed tenants.


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