BROOKHAVEN — ALDI is already open and seeing a stream of customers in Brookhaven Wednesday morning. ALDI Loxley Division Vice President Heather Moore was full of cheer as she talked with new customers and continued her conversation as she bent down to pick up a small piece of paper off the floor. 

ALDI started opening stores in the gulf coast region of the US about two years ago and has 240 stores across the country. Brookhaven’s location is right in between stores in McComb and Flowood. Brookhaven’s ALDI is located at 840 Brookway Boulevard and will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day. 

“We identified Brookhaven as a potential store location early on. We looked for somewhere downtown before we found this perfect site,” Moore said. “The reception we have gotten is so great. We want to continue to have that here. We didn’t advertise we were open today and we had people here at 9:01 a.m. That means a lot to have a company where the customers are so passionate about us. It is humbling.”

First impressions of the ALDI in Brookhaven are the cleanliness of the store and friendliness of staff. The shelves are fully stocked and prices are low. Over the last seven months, ALDI was able to gut the former 601 Sports and Save-A-Lot locations and transform the space into a 12,000 square foot grocery store. ALDI employees worked the past 10 days to get it cleaned and stocked.

Like most grocery stores, the layout starts with the entrance beginning at produce followed by bread, dairy, meat and the frozen section along the exterior walls. Everything else you need such as candy, chips, canned goods, laundry detergent and soda fill the interior aisles. 

“We get fresh produce every day. Customers will be able to come in and buy whatever we have relevant to the season,” Moore said. 

Indeed there is quite the selection of potatoes and squash right now. Moore pointed out that they have a selection of organic produce for customers who want it. Past the bread, ALDI has a selection of holiday cheeses and even a charcuterie end cap for the season. ALDI’s beer selection compliments the dairy coolers and sits across from them. 

On the ALDI Finds aisle there are lots of scrumptious looking holiday candy and chocolate. Moore said the ALDI Finds aisle is special. 

“They are products both food and non-food that come out once a week. They are fun stuff and usually go with the season and compliment each other,” Moore said. “Right now we have fun chocolate, cookies, Christmas decorations and gift ideas. About a third of the ALDI Finds products change each week.”

One thing which makes ALDI unique is that 90 percent of their 1,700 item inventory is private label. ALDI distributes the product which is how they can keep prices low. Customers may not find the name brands they are used to but Moore said ALDI has a guarantee their products are not only as good but better. 

ALDI does sell some region specific products in the store. Blue Plate mayonnaise can be found as can a selection of connecuh sausage, crawfish and other items customers desire. 

With the small store, customers can zip around, find what they need and get out pretty quickly. Convenience is important to ALDI as they offer self-checkout, delivery and curbside pickup. At the same time, ALDI will have employees working checkouts if shoppers want a more personal service. 

ALDI’s grand opening is Thursday morning starting at 9 a.m. the first 100 customers will receive a gift bag filled with a sampling of ALDI Fan Favorites products and a gift card as part of the ALDI Golden Ticket gift card giveaway program. Shoppers can also enter sweepstakes during the grand opening weekend, December 12 to December 15, for a chance to win a $500 ALDI gift card. 

Moore said as part of celebrating the grand opening they made a $1,000 donation to the Mississippi Food Network.