Almost a year ago, we told you about a new grocery store coming to Sioux Falls.  I had never heard of the store and according to the comments on our Facebook page, not a lot of our friends knew the name either. Those who did know, were super excited!

Aldi has 1,500 stores in 32 states including Nebraska and Minnesota. The company plans to build two stores in Sioux Falls. The South Louise Avenue location (formerly Big Lots) will open Thursday, May 12, 2016. Another location is being built on the east side at 5105 E. Arrowhead Parkway.

Aldi describes itself as the "leading low-price grocer."  They pass along the savings to the customer by keeping their costs down.

According to Kiplinger, these are the 10 Things You Should Know About Aldi.

1. Our Facebook friends have been begging for a Trader Joe's.  This might be as close as we get. Trader Joe's and Aldi are owned by sister companies Aldi Nord and Aldi Sud.

2. Aldi is not a well known name in South Dakota, but it's a global company with 10,000 stores in 19 countries and ranks 8th in the 2015 Global Powers of Retail Report. The even finished ahead of Target and Home Depot.

3. To save money on employees, you have to bag your own groceries. Bring your reusable shopping bags too, because Aldi charges you for paper and plastic bags.

4. Aldi doesn't pay staff to run out to the parking lot and bring in carts. It's your responsibility to bring the cart back to the store. Aldi requires a 25-cent deposit to use a cart. When you return the cart, the quarter is returned.

5. More than 90% of the products are private store brands and even include organic and gluten-free brands. Aldi does not make their own line of food. They get their store-brand products from manufacturers around the U.S. and some international companies. They also carry fewer items than a normal grocery store - an average of 1,300 items compared to a supermarket's 30,000 items. Again, this is all designed to save on overhead costs. Some of the name brand products you will see at Aldi include Oscar Meyer, Tide, Gatorade and Coca-Cola.

6. Aldi claims shoppers can save up to 50% by switching to its store brands from national brands. But, you may find some products cheaper elsewhere by using coupons You can't use coupons at Aldi.

7. Aldi is so confident you'll love the store brands they carry, that they'll give you your money back and a replacement item if you don't like their item. It's their "Double Guarantee."  This only applies to the store brand items and excludes alcohol. See the store's website for details.

8. All of Aldi's store-brand items have multiple barcodes. This allows the employee to scan the item more efficiently and not having to look all over the package for one barcode. You'll also notice that the cashiers sit. The store thinks this is a more ergonomically correct position to scan items.

9. Bring cash. In an effort to avoid processing fees, Aldi only accepts cash, PIN-based debit cards, the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) and Link cards. At this time, they do not accept checks, credit cards or the Women, Infants and Children program (WIC).  UPDATE  3/14/16: Aldi now accepts cash, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, most debit cards, EBT and Link cards.

10. Aldi only operates during peak shopping hours. There are no 24 hour stores. Hours vary per store but most are open weekdays from 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM, Saturdays from 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM and Sunday from 9:00 AM - 7:00 PM.

Check out this video tour of Aldi.

Check out the Top 20 favorite products to buy at Aldi.

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