Aldi to open St. Cloud store as part of Florida expansion
By Ryan Lynch – Staff Writer, Orlando Business Journal
Aug 7, 2020, 5:50pm EDT Updated Aug 10, 2020, 11:46am EDT
Aldi is debuting another local store as it continues to expand its Florida footprint.
The German discount grocer plans to open on Aug 13 at 1400 E. Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy. in St. Cloud. The company has about 70 U.S. stores slated to open by year’s end, Orlando Business Journal sister publication Tampa Bay Business Journal reported.
That new store will feature roughly 12,000 square feet of space and five aisles, Matt Thon, Haines City Aldi division vice president, told OBJ. The store will be staffed by 15 to 20 people, which is what each Aldi location usually hires.
Thon added that the company does not have any details to share on upcoming Central Florida stores. However, Aldi quietly opened a store in the Lake Nona area in May, another store in Lutz in July, and yet another is expected to open Aug. 19 in Sunrise.
The chain also celebrated a grand re-opening for a Clearwater store in July and will have another in North Port on Aug. 13
Meanwhile, Aldi plans to expand further in Central Florida. It recently signed a 22,000-square-foot lease at Windermere Village at 5845 Winter Garden Vineland Road, Marc Skorman, president of Windermere-based Skorman Development Corp., previously told Orlando Business Journal. The space itself has been empty for about a year after the roughly 50,000-square-foot retail center was completed in 2019.
Aldi also bought the leases of former Lucky’s Market Orlando stores at 11601 Regency Village Drive and 3230 East Colonial Drive. It has yet to announce whether those will be converted into new stores.
Dan Gavin, Aldi U.S. vice president of national real estate, previously said acquisitions are part of the company’s growth strategy.
Though retail in general has struggled during the Covid-19 crisis, grocery stores have seen a surge in sales. And many of those stores have kept workers employed during these difficult times.
Meanwhile, Aldi passed the 2,000 store mark in the U.S. during July and has locations in 36 states. The company has around 150 stores in Florida.