BUCKTOWN — Aldi shoppers lined up early Thursday for the grand reopening of a store at 1753 N. Milwaukee Ave., along the Bucktown and Wicker Park border.
Yolanda Lopez said she was having a hard time sleeping, so the Humboldt Park resident drove to Aldi at 5 a.m., parked her car and started doing her daily steps.
First in line at 5:15 a.m., Lopez completed over 10,300 steps by 8 a.m., according to an app on her phone.
Though the store "soft opened" last week, the first 100 to line up Thursday were treated to "golden envelopes" containing gift certificates of varying amounts, plus free reusable tote bags and product samples throughout the store.
John Pesen and his son Cedric Garrett were Nos. 2 and 3 in line. The Portage Park men said that they are big fans of the discount grocer, and while they usually shop at two Aldi stores closer to their home, they wanted to try their luck with the "golden envelope" giveaway.
"I like Aldi for the staples. We buy our coffee here," Pesen said.
The store is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.