Aldi’s held their grand opening 9 a.m. on May 29 at 1208 Crawford Street, the former Harvey’s location. Customers formed a line around the corner of the building, hoping for prizes.

The first 100 customers received gift cards, with $100 gift cards going to the first four. Courtney Stoops was fourth in line. “We left our house at 5 a.m. this morning to get here.” Her daughter drew Aldi’s fan art that she was able to show store employees. “We had a really good time. We got a bunch of stuff that we splurged on, just because we won $100.” Their favorite buy was a slushy machine. “We’re just really excited to have Aldi here in Americus. It’s gonna be a great asset to the town, and we’re so excited to shop here.”

Stephannie McCook was standing in line since a little before 8 a.m. She was especially excited about the preservative free brands, along with the cheese and chocolate section.
Her daughter, Jesseca Kelly, also likes Aldi’s. “I have a two-year-old, so the snacks are really important, and the fact that there’s no food dyes is really important.” She noted a difference in her kid’s behavior on dye free food. “The food coloring gives him an attitude problem. He gets really hyped up on food coloring, and there is a difference if he doesn’t have it.” The opening in Americus saves them a trip to Albany.

Jessica Davis is new to Aldi’s, but was 91 in line. “I just want to get my free gift card because, you know, stuff is getting really expensive nowadays.”

Malik Boyton attended the soft-launch the day before. “It could be a little bit bigger, but it looks better than Harvey’s used to look.” He was most excited about the slushy machines for sale.

Kiwi Cody wanted to be in the first hundred people, but missed. He is still excited about the opening. “I’m originally from Atlanta, and we had an Aldi’s, and we would go there all the time.” He gave affordability as a key draw, along with forward thinking practices such as using reusable bags and allowing workers to sit down. He’s especially looking forward to their healthy snacks.

Heather Moore, the divisional vice president, also gave an interview. Their first customer arrived at four in the morning. “We had well over a hundred people here when we cut the ribbon.”

Moore shared their reason for placing Aldi’s in Americus. “We have really had a growth mindset here in the Gulf Coast for the past three years. We opened a large distribution center over in Alabama, so we’re continuing to open stores.” The purchase of the Harvey’s in March of last year set them up to convert to Aldi’s. Construction started seven months ago.

She shared what made Aldi’s unique. “About 90% of our products are Aldi’s exclusive brands.” Aldi’s mantra is quality at low cost. They are also health conscious. The desire to provide healthy options led to the decision to remove artificial colors and flavors out of their exclusive brands.

Originally from Germany, Aldi’s has been in the United States since 1976. “A lot of Americus Georgia folks maybe don’t know Aldi as a brand, but we hope to be a part of their everyday shop.”