# Civic Matters > Suburban & Other OK Communities > Norman >  New ALDI Store Coming to Norman

## Plutonic Panda

Seems like they are really trying to get some of the market share.




> NORMAN  An ALDI grocery store on West Main Street, west of 24th Avenue NW, is expected to open in the spring. Construction of the 17,000-square-foot store is underway.
> 
> 
> 
> - New ALDI store coming to Norman | News OK

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## ou48A

I suppose they have done their research but I'm not sure west Norman needs any more grocery stores?

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## gamecock

Great . . . yet another discount grocery store . . . it's a shame this couldn't be a Trader Joe's instead . . .

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## Plutonic Panda

I have actually heard good things about ALDI's. I have also heard that they have a bunch of foreign foods that are hard to find. I would a Trader Joe's(even though I never been to one), I don't think Aldi's is that bad of a place. I am excited to try out the one in Edmond. 

I honestly think OKC is about to experience a surge of Upscale grocers and it is only a matter of time before we start getting those big names we've been wanting. I don't think it is unrealistic to think we will have a Tom Thumb or a Kroger's in 5 years or less along with a Costco. From what HEB has told me, they have no interest at all in expanding outside of Texas.

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## venture

Seeing Kroger's and upscale in the same paragraph makes me giggle inside. No offense at all Plu, it just goes to show the state of our grocery offerings here that we even consider it that.  :Smile: 

Since this is a Norman section, I'll keep my comments to Norman only. West of the tracks is getting crowded, but Aldi is a bit further south than the recent additions. However, I think that area is just about tapped out. Central Norman and East Norman (not the Lake area) have the best potential for future development. I would say the Hwy 9/US 77 area has the best potential for a Kroger's or Trader Joes (maybe even the store that Pete has been hinting at for coming to the region).

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## Plutonic Panda

Well, most new Kroger's that are being built are what I would consider "upscale". I have been to quite a few shabby Kroger's, but if you've ever been to some of them in Dallas, you'd wonder if you were in the same chain as some of the older ones.

As for what Norman needs, I honestly can not say. I only posted this for the people that live in Norman  :Stick Out Tongue:

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## gamecock

> Seeing Kroger's and upscale in the same paragraph makes me giggle inside. No offense at all Plu, it just goes to show the state of our grocery offerings here that we even consider it that. 
> 
> Since this is a Norman section, I'll keep my comments to Norman only. West of the tracks is getting crowded, but Aldi is a bit further south than the recent additions. However, I think that area is just about tapped out. Central Norman and East Norman (not the Lake area) have the best potential for future development. I would say the Hwy 9/US 77 area has the best potential for a Kroger's or Trader Joes (maybe even the store that Pete has been hinting at for coming to the region).


The store Pete has been hinting about . . . WinCo . . . slogan, "The Supermarket Low Price Leader" . . . seriously . . . sometimes I get so depressed . . .

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## CaptDave

> Great . . . yet another discount grocery store . . . it's a shame this couldn't be a Trader Joe's instead . . .


Maybe it's a market trial? Trader Joe's and Aldi are owned by the same corp.

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## venture

> Well, most new Kroger's that are being built are what I would consider "upscale". I have been to quite a few shabby Kroger's, but if you've ever been to some of them in Dallas, you'd wonder if you were in the same chain as some of the older ones.
> 
> As for what Norman needs, I honestly can not say. I only posted this for the people that live in Norman


Oh I know, the new ones are nice. My parents just had a new one built a mile from their house...the opposite direction from another new one they build 3 years ago. LOL I like them, so don't get me wrong there. I also don't see them all the excited about coming here without real wine/beer sales.

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## Plutonic Panda

> Oh I know, the new ones are nice. My parents just had a new one built a mile from their house...the opposite direction from another new one they build 3 years ago. LOL I like them, so don't get me wrong there. *I also don't see them all the excited about coming here without real wine/beer sales.[*


ooohhh, well that is another issue lol. I'm only 20, so it doesn't affect me yet, but I can definitely understand and will in less than a year :P

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## Easy180

Wife just started hitting  the Aldi in Moore about a month ago. Before then we were brand name snobs but their stuff is almost as good and a helluva lot cheaper. We will be regulars from here on out.

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## venture

> ooohhh, well that is another issue lol. I'm only 20, so it doesn't affect me yet, but I can definitely understand and will in less than a year :P


LOL...well I really don't care. I got all my drinking down in my late teens/early 20s. Now I touch a glass of wine every  now and then...like twice a year if that. It got old fast. LOL

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## CaptDave

> Wife just started hitting  the Aldi in Moore about a month ago. Before then we were brand name snobs but their stuff is almost as good and a helluva lot cheaper. We will be regulars from here on out.


The Aldi store brand arabiatta sauce is pretty darn good.

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## LocoAko

How many grocery stores does NW Norman need? Sheesh. Can't S/SE Norman get some love?

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## bchris02

Kroger is upscale by OKC standards, but in other cities it's middle of the road. Little Rock has some very nice Krogers, but only Signature Krogers are what I would consider upscale. 

Aldi is bottom rung, below even Wal-Mart. Nothing to get excited about at all.

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## Easy180

> Kroger is upscale by OKC standards, but in other cities it's middle of the road. Little Rock has some very nice Krogers, but only Signature Krogers are what I would consider upscale. 
> 
> Aldi is bottom rung, below even Wal-Mart. Nothing to get excited about at all.


Their prices are exciting

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## Geographer

Aldi is great, especially for a college town.

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## Brett

I was shopping at the Penn & Memorial Aldi in OKC today and noticed a sign posted near the Entrance/Exit that they are accepting applications for the Norman store. I didn't read the whole sign as I was shocked to see that Aldi's was actually coming to Norman. I personally think that Oklahoma will never get a Trader Joe's even if a miracle happens and we do get the current alcohol laws changed.

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## kevinpate

Yep, on W Main just west of NW 24th/ W Main intersection, where Larry Spencer Chevy used to be. Looks to be coming along at a brisk pace.

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## Plutonic Panda

> I was shopping at the Penn & Memorial Aldi in OKC today and noticed a sign posted near the Entrance/Exit that they are accepting applications for the Norman store. I didn't read the whole sign as I was shocked to see that Aldi's was actually coming to Norman. *I personally think that Oklahoma will never get a Trader Joe's even if a miracle happens and we do get the current alcohol laws changed.*


Well, prepared to be shocked again, because they're coming.

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## Bunty

> Aldi is great, especially for a college town.


Yes.  Aldi's is working well in Stillwater.

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## Brett

Any word yet on when the Aldi's is going to open? I drove by it this weekend and it looks like it is ready to go.

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## Brett

Main St. & I-35 just opened and Easter is this Sunday. Still scratching my head. What's the hold up with the Aldi's grand opening?

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## ok071

Does anyone know what the building is immediately east of Aldi's?   It's larger or the same size as Aldi's but I don't see any signs telling what it is.

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## Geographer

It's the new Goodwill.

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## Uncle Slayton

According to a post from Aldi USA to Facebook to a question from "Donna":  Hi Donna! The Norman, OK location is scheduled to open May 8. Get your quarters ready!
1  April 23 at 1:19pm

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## rezman

There's a new ALDI store  being built in Edmond at 2nd & Kelly.

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## ljbab728

> There's a new ALDI store  being built in Edmond at 2nd & Kelly.


It might be better to post that information in the Edmond thread.

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## kevinpate

'get your quarters ready' ??

Do they typically do some mega 25 cent loss leader bash when they open?

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## Jersey Boss

> 'get your quarters ready' ??
> 
> Do they typically do some mega 25 cent loss leader bash when they open?


I believe it is a charge for the shopping buggy.

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## rezman

> It might be better to post that information in the Edmond thread.


Really?...

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## venture

> Really?...


Probably more effective...consider no one from Norman is going to drive all the way to Edmond to go to a similar store - let alone care about what they are building in Edmond.

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## Jersey Boss

> There's a new ALDI store  being built in Edmond at 2nd & Kelly.


Don't Edmond my Norman, please.

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## ou48A

> Don't Edmond my Norman, please.


For a better quality of life parts of Norman such as HY -9 need to be Edmondized, other parts not so much.

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## Jersey Boss

I'll stand on my statement and let other residents of Norman give their opinion.

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## Plutonic Panda

> Don't Edmond my Norman, please.


That really makes no sense at all. I've asked exactly what this meant and no clear answer was given. So what exactly about Edmond do you not want to see in Norman? I haven't spent much time in Norman to really become familiar with this, but people in Norman seem to drive a little faster, which I like- in Edmond, you better get familiar with the 35mph club, but it is getting better a bit.

In all honesty though, Norman just seems exactly like Edmond in a bunch of areas.

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## ou48A

> I'll stand on my statement and let other residents of Norman give their opinion.


Of course you would stand by your opinion, which is the same mentality and lack of vision that has created so many of Normans problems. Your mentality stands in the way of improved quality of life for ten's of thousands, all for the sake of a privileged few.
Sadly these mistakes are now costing Norman resident far more money to deal with.
But thankfully most of the newer parts of Norman are being built with much higher standards because smarter people are now making decisions.

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## Plutonic Panda

What Norman really needs to do is (1) bring HWY 9 up to interstate standards and widen it to six lanes, add service roads, and build it across the city while planning for other highways that might be needed in the future (2) identify arterial streets and widen those to six lanes or begin studies to buy ROW (3) become proactive in enticing new large-scale developments to the area (4) build a street car from DT Norman to OU would be nice (5) making the streets two way wouldn't be a bad idea either, I don't think. Also jumping on the bandwagon getting with OKC and Edmond to build a light-rail would be nice also.

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## ou48A

> That really makes no sense at all. I've asked exactly what this meant and no clear answer was given. So what exactly about Edmond do you not want to see in Norman? I haven't spent much time in Norman to really become familiar with this, but people in Norman seem to drive a little faster, which I like- in Edmond, you better get familiar with the 35mph club, but it is getting better a bit.
> 
> In all honesty though, Norman just seems exactly like Edmond in a bunch of areas.


Yep.. The new parts of Norman are a lot like the new parts of Edmond... pretty much as it should be.
But for many decades Norman let flooding go on that most other significant community’s would not tolerate... 
Except for I-35 the state offers very little to improve Norman's traffic that has  grown much worse as Norman's growth has continued... And Norman's growth isn't slowing down in the coming decades.

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## Jersey Boss

Reply to post #36.

Cookie cutter sameness, uber conformity-no local flavors, summed up with BORING.

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## Uncle Slayton

> Reply to post #36.
> 
> Cookie cutter sameness, uber conformity-no local flavors, summed up with BORING.


The main intersection is where White meets Bread...

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## ou48A

> Reply to post #36.
> 
> Cookie cutter sameness, uber conformity-no local flavors, summed up with BORING.


And it doesn’t need to be that way at all if it's done right.
 But this gets back to that lack of vision thing that's in Norman. 
It  all starts with very high end private jobs and providing the incentives to corporations well over and above what the state does. 
But to some in Norman doing that would be like a crime, so we are stuck with mostly cookie cuter development.

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## venture

One of these days boy...one of these days... LOL Anywho...




> What Norman really needs to do is (1) bring HWY 9 up to interstate standards and widen it to six lanes, add service roads, and build it across the city while planning for other highways that might be needed in the future


I think a huge advantage would be to just get some overpasses put in first. When you look at the choke points - it is the traffic lights and not being 4 lanes. Could it be beneficial to go to 6 lanes? Sure. I would look at it though to where the added lanes though are more just really long merging lanes - kinda like what we have on I-35 here now. 

Service roads is a no go and a stupid idea there. You don't have the room. The service roads would provide NOTHING to that area but drive down land values because you are going to be building them through neighborhoods. 




> (2) identify arterial streets and widen those to six lanes or begin studies to buy ROW


Main Street is an obvious on. Robinson is another but then you are facing a ton of ROW issues ($$$$$) as you get east of Flood.




> (3) become proactive in enticing new large-scale developments to the area


High density is something that is being pushed and developments are proposed - it is just a matter of getting the old guard to let them go through. As more progressive and younger people get into city council - things will start moving along. The problem is all the newest development (for the most part) is your cookie cutter McMansion bull**** you see on the outer rims of the urban area of Norman. We need to get away from continuing to rubber stamp those developments while playing hardball for more urban/high density developments in the urban core.




> (4) build a street car from DT Norman to OU would be nice (5) making the streets two way wouldn't be a bad idea either, I don't think.


Street car system would be nice and I think would work very well in Norman. Probably more so than Downtown OKC. With it being a much more progressive city and a very large student population, it would be highly utilized. 




> Also jumping on the bandwagon getting with OKC and Edmond to build a light-rail would be nice also.


Norman has probably been more involved on commuter rail that Edmond has. The city wants it, people are planning for it...the state just needs to get out of the way.

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## Plutonic Panda

Ok, upon further looking at maps, perhaps service roads wouldn't be a good solution for highway 9.

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## rezman

I just mentioned that there was a new ALDI being built in Edmond as well, since the subject is ALDI.   I didn't know that one was forbidden to mention the word "Edmond"  on a thread for  Norman.   I couldn't care less about who dislikes Edmond, or Norman for that matter.

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## ljbab728

> I just mentioned that there was a new ALDI being built in Edmond as well, since the subject is ALDI.   I didn't know that one was forbidden to mention the word "Edmond"  on a thread for  Norman.   I couldn't care less about who dislikes Edmond, or Norman for that matter.


It certainly isn't forbidden.  I made my original comment because I thought it might interest the people more who read the Edmond thread.  I never read the Edmond thread so, if someone had made a comment there about an ALDI opening in Norman, I would have never seen it.

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## venture

> I just mentioned that there was a new ALDI being built in Edmond as well, since the subject is ALDI.   I didn't know that one was forbidden to mention the word "Edmond"  on a thread for  Norman.   I couldn't care less about who dislikes Edmond, or Norman for that matter.


I'll just chalk this up as not realizing there are separate Norman and Edmond subforums here to keep topics split so there isn't confusion. It this thread was posted in the Edmond section I never would have seen it did I don't read that sub forum.

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## Geographer

Man, it sure seems like everyone on here is an expert on urban planning, real estate development, economic development, and transportation planning, etc. I had no idea we had so much talent lurking in the Norman forum!

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## venture

> Man, it sure seems like everyone on here is an expert on urban planning, real estate development, economic development, and transportation planning, etc. I had no idea we had so much talent lurking in the Norman forum!


Duh. :-P

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## Brett

I checked out the new Aldi's yesterday. Its a nice store and it will definitely do some business. I found it funny that the grand opening had about 5 times the normal working staff. Anybody who has ever shopped Aldi's knows that at most 3 people are working in the store at any time.

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## soonermike81

> I checked out the new Aldi's yesterday. Its a nice store and it will definitely do some business. I found it funny that the grand opening had about 5 times the normal working staff. Anybody who has ever shopped Aldi's knows that at most 3 people are working in the store at any time.


For a grand opening, you don't want to alienate any potential regular customers b/c their first experience was a negative one.  If only 3-4 employees are working, and grand opening gets a huge turnout, can you imagine all the upset customers there will be b/c the checkout line is so long or there are out of stocks on an advertised item? Also, most people still seem to be unfamiliar with Aldi and some of their quirky methods. So that would be another reason for excess employees. A new concept in a new market cant afford to have any hiccups for grand opening.

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