Aldi is a favorite here in the rural Ozarks. The closest ones to us are over 40 miles away but my wife and I make a point to shop there when we're in the area.

Aldi is a favorite here in the rural Ozarks. The closest ones to us are over 40 miles away but my wife and I make a point to shop there when we're in the area. There's talk of one being built in Branson, MO, which is less than half the distance and everyone in the entire County has their fingers crossed they will. These are big issues here. Aldi's would give us all another option and save us money too. Here, a lot of the little "mom & pop" stores got killed by Wal-Mart and Lowes close to 20 years ago. Dollar Stores have now replaced them in the past few years, which is kind of strange to see because they're very similar in most ways, and they've now taken a pretty good chunk of WalMart's market share. Our first Wal-Mart in Branson is still there, and it's pretty small compared to the "Super Wal-Mart" they built there a few years ago. But locals don't really "love" Wal-Mart like they did 25 years ago. In fact, most really do not like it, but they didn't have many other choices just a few years ago because all the little Mom & Pop grocery stores had closed. The two Aldi's close to us are constantly busy. They're like a rural "Trader Joe's" for us bumpkins in that they have stuff no other stores carry, and their produce is usually a lot better too.