"It was mainly the vegan cheese dip and other plant-based offerings that brought Sandra Perez and her friend, Maritza Oropeza, to the Aldi grocery store’s grand-opening in Panorama City on Thursday.
But the store’s unique, quarter-operated shopping cart system also might have been a draw.
“Oooh, their carts,” Oropeza said, becoming animated when Perez brought up the subject.
Aldi’s shopping cart system requires patrons to insert a quarter into the handle in order to unlatch it. And to get the quarter back, shoppers need to return the cart.
Oropeza, who already shops at an Aldi in Santa Clarita where she lives, thought the quarter system was a clever way to solve the problem of shopping carts getting strewn about the parking lot, getting in her way.
“I just thought that it was cool, because you never see carts like, out on the parking lot,” she said.
The quarter cart system is also meant to save money for Aldi, which bills itself as being able to offer fresh produce and other good quality products at affordable prices. With this system, there is no need to hire workers to round up the carts from around the store’s modest parking lot.
But the pair said they were mostly appreciative of Aldi’s vegan offerings.
Despite seeing interest in veganism grow in her Panorama City neighborhood, Perez said there is still a lack of stores like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods that readily offer up non-dairy, egg-free, plant-based selections." (
visit link)