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LAPLACE — Shoppers in St. John the Baptist Parish are gaining another discount grocery store option in LaPlace. ALDI is opening a store at 2122 W. Airline Highway as part of its expansion into the Gulf Coast Region.

A projected opening date has not been announced. ALDI Inc. acquired the property from SML Land LLC in January 2021. A few weeks later, ALDI broke ground on a new regional headquarters and distribution center in Loxley, Alabama to service up to 100 stores in Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Florida.

In June 2021, ALDI posted a job opening for a full-time store manager trainee for the new store coming to 2122 W. Airline Highway in LaPlace. This coincided with news of ALDI opening stores in Metairie (in the former Dress Barn location on Veterans), Slidell and Covington. ALDI also posted job openings for stores in Lafayette and New Iberia. Louisiana will become the 38^th state where ALDI operates stores.

By avoiding brand names and offering 90% private label products, ALDI is able to extend lower prices to customers. For the past 10 years, ALDI has held the title of “Value Leader” among grocery stores in the United States, according to the U.S. Grocery Competitive Study by Market Force Information. The Dunnhumby Retailer Preference Index has also listed ALDI as No. 1 for price for the past four years.

ALDI aims to be the third-largest grocery retailer in the United States with 2,500 stores open by the end of 2022. For more information, visit aldi.us.