Aldi Opens New Store In Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, CT — Customers were lined up with carts outside Aldi’s new Fairfield store at its grand opening Thursday, eager to take advantage of the town’s latest grocery option.

“I actually shop about twice a month at the Aldi in Milford,” said Fairfield resident Donna Huber, who was among the first to patronize the new location at 290 Tunxis Hill Road, where she said she expects to be a regular customer.

Aldi is one of two retailers filling the roughly 100,000-square-foot building once occupied by Kohl’s, which closed in fall 2020. The new, more than 20,000-square-foot grocery store shares the property with Atlanta-based flooring retailer Floor & Decor, which opened in June.

“I know a lot of folks have been anxiously awaiting the opening,” Community and Economic Development Director Mark Barnhart said of the Aldi location.

The grand opening Thursday included a ribbon-cutting ceremony, officiated by First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick.

“Fairfield is always excited to welcome new business to our community,” she said. “I view any business’s success as Fairfield’s success.”

Aldi considered several factors in choosing Fairfield as the home of its new store.

“Bottom line, we look for convenient locations for our customers that can support a high traffic volume daily,” South Windsor Division Vice President Chris Daniels said in a prepared statement.

Aldi makes an effort to create a shopping environment that is easy to navigate, with simple signage and low prices, according to District Manager Ryan Reddy.

“Our stores run exceptionally efficiently,” he said.

Aldi’s prices for produce are typically as much as 40 percent below the market average, according to Reddy.

“It’s a different grocery shopping experience,” Fairfield Chamber of Commerce President Beverly Balaz said.

The Fairfield store is part of Aldi's plan to open about 100 new locations in 2021 across the country, according to a company news release. Aldi operates more than 2,000 stores in 37 states and is on track to be the third-largest U.S. grocery retailer by store count by the end of 2022.

“We’re just so excited that Aldi picked Fairfield to open a new store,” Balaz said.