Lidl Will Open First U.S. Grocery Store in Less than a Month

Ariel Knutson
Ariel Knutson
Arie was the Features Director at Kitchn. She lives in Los Angeles.
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published May 17, 2017
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(Image credit: Lidl)

There’s a new grocery store chain that’s about to hit the United States that you need to know about, especially if you love Trader Joe’s and Aldi: Lidl (pronounced lee-dil). Known for its low prices and high-quality products, the European grocery chain is one of the largest retailers in the world, with 10,000 stores across 27 countries.

Earlier this year the mega grocery chain announced that they planned on opening 20 stores across the mid-Atlantic this summer. Today, we finally have a date for the first store opening: Thursday, June 15.

(Image credit: Lidl)

Lidl has yet to release exactly which location will be the first to open, but they did release all 20 locations they plan on rolling out this summer.

  • Kinston, NC
  • Greenville, NC
  • Wilson, NC
  • Sanford, NC
  • Rock Mount, NC
  • Winston-Salem, NC
  • Havelock, NC
  • Rockingham, NC
  • Wake Forest, NC
  • Spartanburg, SC
  • Greenville, SC
  • Virginia Beach, VA
  • Hampton, VA
  • Culpeper, VA
  • Chesapeake, VA
  • Norfolk, VA
  • Newport News, VA
  • Richmond, VA (two locations)
  • North Chesterfield, VA
(Image credit: Lidl)

And that’s just the beginning: Lidl plans to open a total of 100 stores in their first year, mainly focusing on the East Coast. The entire grocery-buying population really is limitless, if you ask Lidl CEO Brendan Proctor.

“Anyone who wants to buy groceries is a future customer for us,” Brendan Proctor explained in a press briefing Tuesday night. The Lidl CEO went on to explain that the U.S is missing “truly high-quality, truly low prices” from grocery stores.

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of going to a Lidl when traveling abroad, don’t expect to see the same things at the grocery chain in the U.S. “Our strength is in adaptation,” Proctor explained when asked about the difference in the new stores. Basically, Lidl wants to make sure it’s giving U.S. customers what they want in a grocery shopping experience.

So what can you expect? Ninety percent of the products at Lidl will be their own brand, and 85 percent of the products will be made here in the United States. You can expect weekly Lidl specials which will “add a little excitement” to shopping. One thing that will be similar, if not the same? The checkout experience, which means shoppers should bring their own grocery bags.

Have you been to a Lidl store in Europe? What did you think?