The new Aldi replaces a Marsh grocery store that was razed several years ago and is part of the chain investing $3.4 billion for an additional 650 new locations across the United States by the end of 2022.
It places a heavy emphasis on fresh items, including robust produce, dairy and bakery sections, and more room for customers’ favorite products with approximately 22,150 square feet of selling space, company officials said.
“I think it’s great because we needed another store for the local people because here in Fairfield we’re kind of nestled in and to get anywhere you’ve got to go up over the hill,” said Jan Linberg, a 40-year Fairfield resident.
MORE: Fairfield dry cleaner celebrates 40 years in business
The store’s design features open ceilings, natural lighting and environmentally-friendly building materials, such as recycled materials, energy-saving refrigeration and LED lighting, said Russ White, Aldi’s director of real estate.
White said constructing and opening a Fairfield location boiled down to helping an area that was “under-served” by the Aldi concept.
“This facility is all-new cutting edge,” White told the Journal-News during Thursday’s store opening. “We have a lot of the new fresh product range and we have sufficient space to properly display those so the customer has an enjoyable shopping experience.”
Roberta Plum of Fairfield said the store seemed larger than most other Aldis and was set up neatly and clean, and although the prices didn’t seem as low as at other Aldi locations, she’d continue to shop there.
“It’s a great convenience for Fairfield,” said Plum, who moved to the city in 1990.
Megan Sites said she and her family have been counting down the time until the store opened.
“We live pretty organically with our groceries and Aldi’s provides organic groceries that are really cost effective and you don’t really get that at competitor stores,” Sites said. “Even just looking around today, a lot of the organic stuff is half price what I would pay at a different grocery store.”
MORE: 5 new local restaurants that are set to open this year
Following a sneak peek at the store Thursday before it opened, Fairfield Mayor Steve Miller called it “beautiful” and said the city is fortunate to have Aldi come to the site and build like it did.
“We really hope this can be a spark to light a fire … for this area and get some more businesses down here and start developing the third and fourth quadrant of our downtown,” Miller said. “
When you do things like this, when you get a name like Aldi’s to come into your town, that impresses other businesses, other people, and they’re more willing to take a chance because they know there’s going to be traffic down here now, they know there’s an anchor.”
The store is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Aldi also is investing $14 million to remodel 11 stores in Cincinnati and the surrounding area by 2019, part of its $1.6 billion plan to remodel more than 1,300 U.S. stores by 2020.
In 2018, Aldi remodeled and reopened locations in West Chester Twp., Hamilton and Middletown.
About the Author
