Aldi will anchor new strip shopping center on Big Bend Road
By KEVIN BRADY
KEVIN BRADY PHOTO
The new Aldi store at 10208 Big Bend Road, just west of U.S. 301, is expected to open next year.
Riverview is booming, and the message has reached all the way to Germany where the headquarters of the discount grocery store giant Aldi has okayed a new store here. It is slated to open in 2019, the anchor store in a 38,000-square-foot strip shopping center.
Just over a year after opening at the corner of U.S. 301 and Sun City Center Boulevard, Aldi has its eye on a property in the 1100 block of Big Bend Road, a stone’s throw from U.S. 301. The new 22,335-square-foot Aldi will anchor a strip shopping center at the northwest of Big Bend and Lincoln roads with an additional 16,000-square-feet slated for additional build-out, according to county records. Lincoln Bend Retail’s site plan for the project was okayed Aug. 31.
“Fantastic,” said Donna Huval on hearing the news the grocery store will be opening less than a half- mile from her home. “I have been driving to the Aldi in Sun City Center, but this will be much closer,” said Huval, a resident of King Richard Trailer Park on Big Bend Road, which will neighbor the new store. “They have really good produce, are accessible and helpful there.”
“I really like to shop for vegetables and welcome them here,” said Bonnie Tyson who lives about 1 mile from the proposed store. She had also been driving to Sun City Center to shop at Aldi.
Locals have been urging Aldi through a mini Facebook campaign to consider moving to the area to allow senior’s and those whose only form of transportation Is a golf cart or mobility scooter access to a quality grocer.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Laura DiSalvo said. “(It will be) nice to have more natural and organic shopping options.”
S Marie Zedek just moved to Riverview and plans to be a regular at the new store.
“The location is going to be convenient, (my) main reason. I love their affordability and products. They’re always stocked, no matter the store I have gone into. And the store has a good layout; you get in and get out. (But) don’t forget your quarter.” Unlike most grocery stores, Aldi charges a quarter to use the store’s grocery carts. “They carry affordable organic produce. That is hard to find, not to mention they support local farmers and sell their produce as well.”
Riverview area residents currently drive to Brandon or Sun City Center to shop at Aldi.
“We’re excited to join the community and to be able to bring residents high-quality groceries at everyday low prices. We will be in touch when we have more details to share regarding timing the store’s grand opening celebration,” said Matt Thon, the vice president of Aldi’s Haines City Division.
The new Riverview store is part of Aldi’s $3.4 billion investment to expand to 2,500 stores nationwide by the end of 2022, Thon said. Although the typical Aldi is much smaller than its big-name rivals like Walmart or Publix, the no-frills grocer is eyeing a larger slice of the market, planning to introduce a home-delivery option at stores across the U.S. by Thanksgiving. One in five customers who switched grocery stores this year chose Aldi, according to a Morgan Stanley report released last month.
Aldi, a powerhouse in Europe from its base in Essen, Germany, opened its first U.S. store in Iowa in 1976. By the end of 2018, some 1,500 Aldi stores are projected to be open in the area between Kansas and the East Coast alone.