IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Temecula is getting on the Aldi bandwagon.
The city’s planning commission recently approved an Aldi store that will be built on an empty parcel of land on Rancho California Road near Moraga Road, said James Atkins, project planner for the city.
The discount grocery store chain has opened nine stores in the Inland Empire since March, and it plans to have approximately 45 locations operating in Southern California by the end of this year, according to company officials.
Temecula is already loaded with grocery stores, including a Vons and an Albertsons near where the Aldi store will be built, but city officials believe the community can accommodate at least one more competitor.
“We’ve got just about all of them,” Atkins said. “Vons, Stater Bros. Ralphs, WinCo, and Food 4 Less are here, but we think Aldi is going to fill a niche. It’s not really a full-line grocery store and most what they sell [carries] the Aldi brand. We think it’s going to fit in well.”
A construction timeline for the store has not been announced.
Aldi opened its first U.S. store in Iowa in 1976. It currently operates more than 1,500 stores in 33 states, employing more than 22,000 people, according to the company’s website.
