Fast growing grocery chain Aldi should begin construction on its first Baton Rouge-area location in the next couple of weeks.
Work is set to begin soon on a store in the Settlement at Shoe Creek, said Heather Moore, a division vice president for Aldi USA.
The Central store is one of five South Louisiana Aldi locations set to open in 2023, Moore said. Work should start “very soon” on a store at 2345 O’Neal Lane, as well as a second Baton Rouge location near the intersection of Siegen Lane and North Rieger Road, in front of Total Wine.
Construction of stores in Marrero and Thibodaux are underway.
The first Louisiana Aldi store opened nearly a year ago in Lafayette. Since then the chain has opened six more locations, most recently in Covington.
“The customer reaction to us has far outpaced our wildest dreams,” Moore said. She credits social media and word of mouth for getting the word out about Aldi’s prices and quality.
Aldi is officially opening a distribution center in Loxley, Alabama this week, which is fueling the company’s rapid expansion across the Gulf Coast. Plans are to build more than 100 stores between Louisiana and the Florida Panhandle over the next few years.
“We’ve got a lot of other plans for Baton Rouge and New Orleans,” Moore said.
It still owns the 3 acres it bought in Lafayette along Ambassador Caffery Parkway across from the Walmart Supercenter, but Moore said construction on that may not come for another year.
Aldi was launched in Essen, Germany, in 1961 and came to the U.S. in 1976. Its stores are smaller than traditional grocery stores, at about 12,000 square feet, with a layout designed for simplicity and efficiency, the company said.
About 10 to 15 people work at each store.
The company has more than 2,200 stores in 38 states and is the third largest grocery store chain in the U.S. by store count.