Lidl US store Grand Opening

The new Lidl store opened yesterday and it was pretty great! There are a lot of fantastic opening specials.  You can check out their opening ad .

  

For those of you not familiar with Lidl, it is a German grocery chain. Think Aldi but, I have to say, better!  The company operates 10,000 stores in 27 countries and is making its way to America.   The local store was one of six that opened yesterday along the East Coast.  The stores are mainly located in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina with plans for 90 opening this year according to the company. 

Lidl offers lower prices and its own store brands in comparison very similar to Aldi.   They also offers "in and out specials" that are released every Monday and Thursday.   It can be items like shoes, inflatable kayaks, leather wallets, and charcoal grills.  These items change, so if you see something buy it quickly.    

So a few important things to know about the store:

Store Hours- Monday- Sunday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m

They do not accept manufacturer's coupons but do have store coupons available on the their store app. 

They accept cash, credit, and debit.  NO checks. 

You don't need a quarter for the grocery carts, but you will need to bring your own bags.  Lidl does not offer free bags.  But, during this opening weekend, they are giving away free bags while supplies last.    

The stores are very attractive.  Large windows line the entrance and checkout, making use of natural lighting.   Immediately when you walk in you are greeted by fresh produce and the most amazing smell of fresh baked bread and pastries.   

Fresh doughnuts were 3 for .99

Fresh baked croissants were .39 each.  I did purchase several croissants and they were amazing! The croissants had a rich buttery taste and if you just touched them crumbs would flake off. We made sandwiches last night for dinner with the croissants.  

The fresh baguettes still had steam coming off of them.

If you purchase fresh loaves of bread, you can get them sliced ready for sandwiches.  The bakery has a lot offer.  And of course, the lovely ladies who worked in the bakery were offering samples yesterday and nobody could refuse them!  

 The produce is stacked in its original shipping boxes.  Don't look for elaborate produce displays.  I was  impressed with the overall look of the produce.  There was a nice selection of organic fruits and vegetables.  

I picked up some produce items yesterday.

Fresh whole pineapple .89
Organic Bananas  .59 per pound
Lemons  .49 each
Limes .29 each
Mango .39


I did not really look at Lidl's meat selection.  Since my family is mostly vegetarian it isn't something that I shop for anymore.  But according to the sales ad, Chicken breast were 1.29

 I did however sample some of the cheeses and the store brand plain Greek yogurt with store brand granola and fresh blueberries.   The cheeses and yogurt were nice quality and I would probably purchase in the future.

Another drawing point is their wine selection.   Lidl offers inexpensive award winning wine.  I noticed that bottles ranged from about $3- $25 a bottle.  I did purchase a bottle of Moscato and but I have not tried it yet.

I also learned that Lidl does theme food weeks.  This week is Italian foods.  You will find in their ad that there is a lot of Italian food items specially priced.  One of the featured items is extra long 19 inch spaghetti noodles imported from Italy. Those packages are .99 this week.   I did pick up some of those noodles which I thought my children would have fun with.   You can see them in my  Lidl haul picture posted below.

So my total Lidl haul from yesterday was small.  I wasn't in need of many groceries so I just picked up a few items.   

1 bottle of Moscato wine

2 fair trade chocolate bars (1 milk chocolate, 1 milk chocolate with hazelnuts)

1.5 pounds of organic bananas

1 pineapple

4 fresh baked croissants

2 limes

1 lemon

1 fresh baked baguette

2 packages of imported extra long spaghetti

3 non gmo fruit leathers (not pictured)

Total: $13.83

My overall impression of Lidl is that I really loved it. I really liked it more then Aldi.  Granted I am not a full Aldi shopper either (I go to Aldi for 2 items on a regular basis and that is it.)   I still won't do all of my shopping here but I definitely will watch their sales ad for produce, bakery items, some miscellaneous grocery items and certainly any of their "in and out specials" are worth watching.  

If you have a Lidl that just opened in your community, let me know what you think.

(My review of Lidl Stores is my own opinion.  I did not receive any payment, products, or services for this review.)