ALDI to reopen West Columbia store this week

West Columbia ALDI shoppers won’t need to continue to drive out of their way to another area ALDI location after Thursday.

ALDI will host a grand reopening of its West Columbia location at 2930 Augusta Rd. on Thursday. The store closed several weeks ago to make major changes to its look and offerings. The store has now been updated to match ALDI’s newer, modern store styles which include higher ceilings, natural lighting, environmentally friendly building materials, energy-saving refrigeration and LED lighting. The store also has expanded offerings and selections and now includes new features such as “Dietitian’s Picks”--healthy products selected by nutritionists.

“We have been a proud member of the West Columbia community for 15 years,” said Krysta Cearley, division vice president for ALDI. “To ensure we can continue to offer West Columbia shoppers the highest quality products at the lowest possible prices in a simple and easy-to-navigate shopping environment, we’re pleased to bring the new look of ALDI to West Columbia.”

To celebrate the reopening of the expanded store, ALDI will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 8:45 a.m. on Thursday. Following the ceremony, the first 100 shoppers will receive a golden ticket, each containing ALDI gift cards of various amounts. Customers can also tour the store and enter an on-site sweepstakes for a chance to win a year’s supply of ALDI produce.

ALDI operates nearly 1,600 stores in 34 states and, over the next several years, plans to add an average of 130 new stores each year, according to a company spokesperson. ALDI has four other Midlands-area locations--at 6075 St. Andrews Rd., 1240 Longreen Pkwy. and 7610 Garners Ferry Rd. in Columbia and at 5182 Sunset Blvd. in Lexington.

The remodeled location will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.