No-frills food chain coming to LI

One of the most unusual food stores in the worldwide supermarket industry is about to hit Long Island. ALDI, short for Albrecht Discount, a giant supermarket chain that originated in Germany, has plans to open its first stores in the New York metropolitan area next year, including one on Sunrise Highway in Bay Shore. Another is to open in Queens and a third in the Bronx. ALDI, whose U.S. headquarters are in Batavia, Ill., has about 1,100 stores in the United States. There are many others in Europe, but they are under a different corporate structure.

Jeremy Isaacs, of Ripco Real Estate in Jericho, arranged for ALDI to take over an old Office Depot building in Bay Shore. Isaacs said he believed the store will open in late summer and that more are coming to Long Island.

ALDI spokeswoman Heather Tarczan said the company plans next year to open 80 to 100 stores in the 31 states where it currently has outlets. She was unable to say where the stores may be.

Long Island shoppers will find ALDI an unusual experience. The stores are smaller - about one-fourth the size of traditional supermarkets - and generally carry their own brands. The items tend to be less expensive than at traditional supermarkets. ALDI stores do not decorate aisles. Goods are laid out in five aisles. The stores often accept only cash, debit cards or food stamps, not credit cards. They don't have pharmacies, bakeries or butcher shops. Shoppers pay 25 cents for the use of a cart; they get the quarter back when they leave the store.

David Orgel, editor-in-chief of Supermarket News, said ALDI stores tend to be "easily overlooked" by competitors because the stores are small. "People should not overlook them," Orgel said. "They have been quietly making a very big impact in the U.S."