Aldi, a grocery chain known for its discounted prices, is preparing for the grand opening of its Ankeny location on Feb. 28.

The first 100 customers who show up to the opening at 8:25 a.m. will get a "Golden Ticket," which contains a gift card, according to a news release. The gift cards vary in amount but can be worth up to $100.

A soft opening is also planned for 9 a.m. on Feb. 27, according to a Facebook event.

The 14,000-square-foot store is about 40 percent larger than most of the existing stores in the Des Moines metro. It is located at 2075 North Ankeny Boulevard in the north side of town.

As part of their expansion efforts, the new store will feature a larger refrigeration section that includes more produce, dairy and bakery sections.

Ankeny's newest store is a part of a $3.4 billion investment by Aldi Inc. to expand to 2,500 stores nationwide by the end of 2022. Five stores are already in the metro and 29 are in Iowa. In addition, $1.6 billion is also being spent to renovate 1,300 existing stores nationwide.

The upstart German discount grocery chain is known for its low prices, 25-cent rental shopping carts and customers bagging their own groceries.

About 90 percent of the items in its aisles are house brands with names like Southern Grove, for nuts and dried fruit, or Savoritz, for crackers. Stores also have an area where non-food merchandise, ranging from summer flip-flops to luggage to wet-dry vacuum cleaners, is sold for a limited time, according to USA Today.

Ankeny Aldi will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Sunday. Online ordering and grocery delivery is available from the grocery chain in the Des Moines metro through a partnership with Instacart.