Rachael also contributed to this post.
This morning, we paid a visit to our local Aldi store to see how it looked in the midst of the coronavirus shopping frenzy. We arrived shortly after the store opened.
Here’s what we saw.
Outside our Aldi store, about 20 minutes after the store opened. There were almost no parking spaces, and some people were even waiting for others to leave so they could take their spots. We parked in a different store’s lot and walked over. (Photo credit: Rachael Johnston)
The cart storage area at 9:20 am. (Photo credit: Rachael Johnston)
A number of stores in our area have altered their hours to give workers time to restock and clean. (Photo credit: Rachael Johnston)
This was posted in the canned goods section. (Photo credit: Rachael Johnston)
No eggs … but, hey, at least the price was good. (Photo credit: Rachael Johnston)
To no one’s surprise, there was not a single scrap of toilet paper to be found. Just two days earlier, I’d visited this store, and it still had a decent supply. Not today. (Photo credit: Rachael Johnston)
While not out, the paper towel supply was severely depleted. (Photo credit: Rachael Johnston)
We saw scattered shortages of different food items. Here, the store’s rice stock is mostly gone. (Photo credit: Rachael Johnston)
The meat department had seen better days, although there were still some products to be had. (Photo credit: Rachael Johnston)
Take-and-bake pizza appears to be a popular catastrophe food. (Photo credit: Rachael Johnston)
The store was plenty busy with people. Two weeks ago, this aisle had also been stacked with non-food products on the floor. Whether from high sales or from trying to open up more space, they had since been removed. (Photo credit: Rachael Johnston)
The checkout lines stretched, in some cases, well into the aisles. No one seemed to pay much mind to the ALDI Finds in their midst. (Photo credit: Rachael Johnston)
5 of the 6 lanes were open. They probably needed 7. (Photo credit: Rachael Johnston)
With all the traffic, having adequate cash on hand apparently was a problem. (Photo credit: Rachael Johnston)
The toilet paper and bottled water panic is the silliest. Just goes to show you how much power the media has over us. I bet the vitamin section was fully stocked.
Hi Joshua, how was the situation in the frozen aisles?
Like you might expect, it varied. Some frozen items were gone (breaded chicken was a major casualty) while other things, like breakfast foods, were not.
Thanks, Joshua.
If this was AM what would after 12 noon look like? Our stores are bare. We need shopping for the over 60 crowd, I don’t care about limits, most old people are not 10 toilet papers. Then again, so many are doing such nutty stuff.