Aldi, the discount supermarket chain, continued its national expansion this month with the debut of a new store in St. Paul’s Payne-Phalen neighborhood — its third new location in and around the capital city.

A Dec. 12 grand opening event will take place at the 1160 Clarence St. site — a stone’s throw from rival Cub Foods.

Aldi, based in Germany, now operates in 20 countries and continues to open stores in the Twin Cities metro. The Aldi chain plans 2,500 stores across the U.S. by 2022.

Aldi held a grand opening for a new supermarket at 10985 Ulysses St. in Blaine on Nov. 21. A new location anchoring the redevelopment of Sibley Plaza, at 2481 Seventh St. West in St. Paul, opened Nov. 12.

Last August, Aldi celebrated the opening of a store attached to housing at 2601 Lyndale Ave S. in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis.