Aldi will open a supermarket at 26th and Lyndale in Minneapolis next summer

Its been two years since it was announced that Aldi would be part of a mixed-use project, now called Rex 26, at 26th and Lyndale in Minneapolis. Now, Aldi has confirmed the store will open in the summer of 2019.

In addition to Aldi, the mixed-use project will include 97 apartments in a five-story building.

Aldi will have 21,000 square feet on the first floor, larger than its older Twin Cities stores. It will be one of the few Aldi locations anywhere to have underground parking, said Matt Lilla, vice president for Aldis Faribault division.

Also different for this Aldi: shopping baskets. Though standard at most grocery stores, Aldi has shied away from them after having problems in other parts of the country with baskets being taken. In its Minnesota stores, Aldi shoppers either had to bring shopping bags or put a quarter deposit in a shopping cart, which is returnable when the cart is returned. Aldi uses the system to reduce the time it takes workers to bring carts in from the parking lot.

Aldi currently has 58 stores in Minnesota, with more stores opening this year in Eagan, Princeton, Virginia and Marshall. Stores expected to open in the first half of 2019 include Cloquet, Chaska, Chanhassen and Lakeville. Minnesota will have more than 70 Aldis by the end of 2019, including at least two St. Paul locations, Lilla said.

In 2017, the company announced a $5 billion expansion and remodeling of U.S. stores, including remodeling 35 existing stores in Minnesota through 2020 at a cost of $34 million. Around 10 are finished, with seven more to be completed by the end of this year.

Adding a supermarket in mixed use projects is growing in popularity. In the Twin Cities, Fresh Thyme built stores in mixed use complexes in Minneapolis Prospect Park neighborhood and St. Louis Park.

Cub Foods next year will open its first urban concept store at 46th and Hiawatha. Trader Joes is scheduled to open a new store on Washington Avenue in downtown Minneapolis this summer. Aldis Chanhassen store will also be in a mixed-use project.

John Ewoldt 612-673-7633