Aldi upgrades store in state where it all started—Iowa

Aldi news taking place this week centers around the discount grocer’s original point of entry in the U.S.—Iowa.

The Midwest-based grocery retailer, which opened its first U.S. location in Iowa in 1976, will reopen its Dubuque, Iowa, store on Thursday following a remodel.

According to the discount grocer’s website, Aldi now operates 36 stores in Iowa and is nearing 2,300 locations nationwide.

The store, located at 2160 Holiday Drive, will feature a streamlined shopping experience and is part of Aldi’s ongoing initiative to remodel and expand existing stores, the grocer said. The store also features open ceilings and natural lighting, and it is built with environmentally friendly materials.

“We have invested in remodeling our stores to ensure they are designed to make grocery shopping smarter, faster and easier,” said Shane Williams, Oak Creek regional VP for Aldi, in a statement. “With the updated Dubuque store, shoppers will notice a new look with more fresh and convenient items at the reliably low prices Aldi fans rave about.”

The fast-growing German discount grocery chain’s growth in the Midwest is continuing in Iowa’s neighboring state of Illinois as well.

Illinois and Florida both hold the top spot for states with the highest number of locations at 210, according to the grocer’s website.

With no signs of slowing in Illinois, a new Aldi store is underway at 4747 W. Irving Park Rd. at Six Corners, a shopping district in the Portage Park neighborhood of Chicago's Northwest Side. The new Six Corners store will open toward the end of the year, Batavia Division VP Heather McCarthy told WGB earlier this year.