Aldi plans to add 800 stores across the U.S. as part of five-year plan

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Discount grocer Aldi plans to add 800 stores across the U.S. by the end of 2028 and will invest more than $9 billion in its national expansion, the company announced Thursday.

The company, based in Batavia, just west of Chicago, expects to open nearly 330 new stores in the Northeast and Midwest. The low-cost chain also plans to grow its presence in Southern California, Phoenix, Las Vegas and other areas in the West. It will expand through both new openings and converting Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket locations to the no-frills Aldi’s format starting this summer.

The expansion announcement follows Aldi’s acquisition last August of Southeastern Grocers, owner of Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket. Aldi on Thursday also confirmed finalization of the deal, but did not disclose financial terms. The merger will drive the grocer’s growth in states such as Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.

In 2021, Aldi came under fire when it shuttered its location in West Garfield Park, citing high expenses largely due to theft and security.

The company did not specify how many stores it will open in Chicago, or Illinois, as part of its five-year growth plan. But on Thursday, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for its new Portage Park store. Chicago is home to 34 Aldi stores, according to its website.

Food deserts — areas that lack access to quality food and supermarkets — are a big concern in Chicago. Last summer, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation pledging $20 million to grocers that open and expand stores in underserved rural towns and city neighborhoods as part of the Illinois Grocery Initiative.

A WBEZ-Chicago Sun-Times analysis found low food access in Chicago rose by 63% in the last decade. That includes the recent high-profile closures of a Walmart Supercenter in Chatham, a Whole Foods in Englewood and the Aldi in Auburn Gresham.

Some 3.3 million Illinois residents live in a food desert, according to a 2021 Illinois Department of Public Health report.

Aldi’s acquisition of Winn-Dixie and Harveys comes amid wider consolidation in the grocery industry. Kroger and Albertsons — two of the largest U.S. grocery chains — attempted to merge in a $24.6 billion deal.

However, the Federal Trade Commission in February sued to block the merger and claimed loss of competition would lead to higher prices for groceries, lower quality products and services and less choice for consumers.

U.S. prices for food eaten at home typically rise 2.5% per year, but in 2022 they rose 11.4% and in 2023 they rose another 5%, according to government data.

Contributing: AP