Turf war: Competing grocery stores Aldi and Lidl to open near each other in Bergenfield

Ricardo Kaulessar | NorthJersey

Show Caption Hide Caption Ramsey Square mall to get new tenants Ramsey Square's long-vacant Sports Authority space is being converted to house an Aldi's supermarket and a Pet Goods store

German grocery rivals Lidl and Aldi have staked out a new battleground for customers: Bergenfield.

While Lidl will be opening a store on New Bridge Road this month, Aldi has submitted plans for a new location in the Foster Village Shopping Center, just a few blocks away.

A brochure for Ripco real estate shows that a lease was signed for a 20,900-square-foot space at the South Washington Avenue shopping center. The space was once the site of an Asian grocery market, and is remembered by older residents as the location of a Grand Union supermarket.

Aldi has already posted openings on its website for full-time positions in the Bergenfield store, including manager trainee, shift manager and store associates.

A representative for Ripco Realty, which represents Oster Properties, the owner of the Foster Village Shopping Center, was not available for comment on when Aldi will open.

The Bergenfield Aldi location will join others in North Jersey, including in Clifton, Lodi, East Rutherford, Bloomfield and Hackensack. And there are Aldi stores slated for Ramsey and Totowa.

Aldi, which operates small stores stocked largely with its own private-label items, was founded in Germany in 1913. The business has expanded to more than 11,000 locations in 20 countries, including about 1,600 in the United States.

Lidl, which opened its first store in Germany in 1973, operates more than 10,500 stores across Europe and the United States. It has also opened several New Jersey locations in recent years, with others in the works for Montclair, Weehawken and Bayonne.

A Lidl spokesperson declined to comment about an Aldi opening not far from its Bergenfield store.

When Aldi does open, it will also continue a recent spate of store openings at the Bergenfield shopping center, which has 280 parking spaces and a variety of businesses.

Taco Bell opened a drive-thru restaurant in September. The discount chain Dollar General opened a store around the same time. The fast-casual eatery Burgerim launched a new place earlier this year. And the restaurant Kimchi Smoke Barbecue is scheduled to open in spring.

Bergenfield Mayor Norman Schmelz said plans for the new Aldi have been submitted to the borough's Construction Department, but he did not provide further details.

Schmelz is excited about two supermarkets operating in his hometown. The last major supermarket to open in the borough was Acme, which closed in November 2017.

"I think it's great. I think it's great. There used to be three supermarkets in town ... so it's not like we can't support it," Schmelz said.

Ricardo Kaulessar is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: kaulessar@northjersey.com Twitter: @ricardokaul

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