Grocery Store Competition Tightens in Lisbon

The new ALDI Food Market in Lisbon

The new ALDI Food Market opened last month in the Crossing At Lisbon.  Bring a quarter to unlock a shopping cart (it's refundable!), some bags to save on buying them there and prepare to bag what you buy.  Many packages may look familiar, but the store brands on them may not ring a bell.  You will also notice less selection by brand name.  Unlike a few big box stores surrounding it - like the newly opened Lowe's Home Improvement store and the Target in the same plaza - the new Lisbon ALDI has a smaller footprint on the landscape.   All of this saves them on overhead costs, but your grocery bill may be a pleasant relief from the skyrocketing food prices we have seen over the past few years.  ALDI has stores in 31 states, including two other ones in eastern Connecticut.  You may have already visited them in North Windham or Dayville.  I noticed ALDI's store brand of chewy fiber bars looking very much like the Fiber One brand I bought somewhere else.  They tasted the same and were much cheaper.  That was my experience with many of their products, although I've never found a store brand anywhere as good as General Mills' Honey Nut Cheerios.   Will ALDI replace all the other grocery stores?   I doubt it.  There are times when shoppers want more variety and selection, but there is no doubt the ALDI model has found a successful niche.