By Leah LeMoine | Phoenix Magazine
When then-Russian president Boris Yeltsin visited the United States in 1989, he was gobsmacked by the bounty at Houston grocery chain Randalls – a far cry from Soviet rations. For better or worse, the U.S. has cornered the market on big-box grocers, and it’s newsworthy when foreigners compete with our overflowing aisles, as German grocer ALDI (aldi.us) is set to do in the West Valley next year when it opens locations in Buckeye and Peoria.
“ALDI has nearly 1,800 stores in 35 states and is one of the fastest-growing retailers in the U.S.,” a company spokesperson says via email. “The company is charting an aggressive course to reach 2,500 stores by the end of 2022.”
