‘It’s exciting’: Hundreds of shoppers line up outside Staten Island’s first Aldi, as store hosts grand opening

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Bobby Ritz was curious to see what the new Aldi in Greenridge Plaza has to offer, so the Bulls Head resident met up with a few friends and hopped on line at 4 a.m. Wednesday morning in anticipation of the discount grocer’s grand-opening events. He was the first shopper to enter the store, and he received a $100 gift card for his efforts.

“It’s exciting, so why not?” Ritz said, his sentiments echoed by Gina Harason of Great Kills and Michael Giacalone of Eltingville, who by 8 a.m. had already shared a few cups of Country Donuts coffee. “We figured we’d come out to see what all the hype is about.”

They were joined by Alexis Burke of Mariners Harbor, Gail Byrd of St. George and Jawad Janjua of West Brighton at 4:30 a.m.

“We’ve been fans of Aldi for a while,” Janjua said. “Of course we had to come out for the grand opening.”

And they weren’t alone. More than 200 shoppers showed up for the official store opening and ribbon cutting, each one lured in for the store’s “Golden Ticket” gift card giveaway, which awarded the first 100 customers with store credit ranging in value from $10 to $100.

“I’m here for the deals,” said Lisa Bonici of South Beach. “We’re finally getting some good stores here in Staten Island.”

Located at3285 Richmond Ave. in Greenridge Plaza, the store hosted a soft opening on Wednesday, inviting guests in while staffers “worked out the kinks.” But business was in full swing on Thursday, as a steady flow of customers descended upon the aisles.

Known for its no-frills selling strategy and competitive prices, Aldi operates more than 2,000 locations throughout 36 states, mostly concentrated in the eastern half of the country. Headquartered in Batavia, Illinois, the company employs more than 25,000 people. The Staten Island store will be the 123rd Aldi location in New York state. All other NYC boroughs currently have at least one Aldi store.

The Staten Island location is bright and spacious, with aisles wider than those found in a typical grocery store. And the selection is wide too: Shelves are stocked with a mix of meats, produce, quick meals and baked goods – most products produced by Aldi’s private label.

Prices are reasonable: A gallon of milk can be purchased for $3.11, a dozen eggs is $3.29 and a pound of store brand bacon scans in at $3.99. And while name brands are limited – Oreo, Campbell’s, Ritz and more dot the aisles – Aldi’s discounted copy is always situated nearby.

“Aldi Finds” was undoubtedly the most popular section in the store during the opening. Customers were clustered there picking through a stash of toys, books, phone chargers and fall-themed home décor.

There are a number of tips and tricks for shopping at Aldi, including bringing a quarter to unlock a shopping cart.

Unlike larger supermarkets, there is no deli counter or in-store bakery, but packaged cold-cuts and baked goods are available for purchase. A large selection of frozen foods takes up a good portion of the store’s real estate, but noticeably absent from Aldi is any form of self-checkout. Eight registers were fully staffed during the grand opening.

Not to be confused with Lidl, another German-based discount supermarket chain that opened a New Springville location at the Staten Island Mall in 2018, Aldi is a completely separate entity known for its smaller layout and highly curated selection of goods.