New Aldi grocery store opens in Midlothian

A long line snaked around the new Aldi grocery store on Robious Road in Chesterfield County Thursday, the sixth Aldi to open in the Richmond market and the first to open in Chesterfield.

People said they came out to see the store and to take advantage of opening day bargains that included a stalk of celery for 69 cents and a dozen of large eggs for $1.35.

While Germany-based Aldi is known for its no-frills, discount approach – stores are typically smaller than other chains and stock about 1,500 of the most typically purchased items — shoppers also will find organic produce  and other healthy food items.

There’s a gluten-free product line and a SimplyNature line of products, free of 125 artificial ingredients and preservatives.

“It’s night and day to what we were offering six years ago,” said Joshua Walls, a director of real estate who was among Aldi officials on hand to celebrate the Midlothian store’s opening. “We’re still price conscious, but there are new offerings,” he said.

The new products are in response to market demand for healthy selections. Walls said Aldi has made a commitment for its brand food items to be free of synthetic colors, partially hydrogenated oils and added MSG. “So our orange soda isn’t exactly orange, but it tastes like orange soda,” he said.

About 12 employees work at the 18,000-square-foot store, located down the street from a Costco near Chesterfield Town Center.

Aldi’s has four more stores under construction or planned in the Richmond area.
The company has purchased two acres on West Broad Street in Henrico County near West Broad Marketplace, a 350,000-square-foot mixed-use project under development by NVRetail Inc.
It also plans locations in the Staples Mill Shopping center in Henrico, in the Hanover Village shopping center in Hanover County and at a site off the Boulevard near West Broad Street.