Discount grocer Aldi plans to continue its trend of opening stores in southeastern Wisconsin, this time with a grocery store in the parking lot of a competitor.
Aldi has submitted plans to the Village of Menomonee Falls to build a 22,399-square-foot grocery store on land currently owned by Woodman’s Food Market on Highway 145.
The store would be located at the northwest corner of Boundary and Leon roads.
Woodman’s has operated a grocery store, gas station and self-service car wash in Menomonee Falls since 2009. At the time, Woodman’s constructed the grocery store, two outlots were created on the south end of the property for future development.
Neither site has been developed.
Aldi Inc. has offered to purchase the easternmost outlot from Woodman’s for its store for an undisclosed price, according to plans submitted to the village.
“(Aldi) stated that the proposed grocery store is the company’s new concept which includes a new modern design and a revised store layout that is more consistent with other grocery stores,” according to plans submitted to the village.
The grocery store would have a total of 10 full-time employees and two part-time employees. It would be open seven days a week.
The village plan commission will consider the request on June 5.
Aldi is also planning to open stores in Oak Creek and Glendale.
Menomonee Falls-based Kohl’s Corp. is planning to sublease space freed up by its store reductions to Aldi. Aldi stores will be added to as many as 10 Kohl’s locations this year.
Atty McGrath, Oak Creek division vice president for Aldi, said the rising demand for the store is fueling the company’s significant expansion. By the end of 2022, there will be nearly 2,500 Aldi stores nationwide. There are currently more than 1,800 stores in 35 states, McGrath said.
“When it comes to choosing store locations, we look at many factors,” McGrath said. “We want the best sites that are closest to our shoppers and can support a high daily traffic volume. As the demand for Aldi grows, so do our real estate options. Bottom line, we want to be conveniently located for our shoppers.”
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