I tracked Aldi out for the first time recently and was pleasantly surprised. Granted it was in the…read moremiddle of the day on a Friday but the parking lot was nearly empty as was the store. When I first walked in I was immediately impressed with how big it is and how much space there is in the aisles, so it's definitely not tight like Whole Foods is. As soon as you enter on the left they have really good looking refrigerated pizzas that you would just pop in the oven. They also had a good selection of health drinks such as kombucha, coconut Waters, etc. I noticed tI noticed the Aldi brand had a dubai chocolate creamer that was actually organic which was really surprising to me. In fact one of the two things I bought was marinated chicken on skewers. My husband grilled them and they were very yummy. I didn't look too much into the freezer section, but I did notice they had Johnny pops for a decent price, which are frozen popsicles that are typically quite expensive. They're ice cream. Selection was also unique and interesting. The second item I bought was organic raspberries. I'm very familiar with Aldi in Europe and its very much the same here. You pay a quarter to get a cart, which I did not do. You are expected to bring your own bags and bag your groceries yourself. There's also lots of space for you to properly pack your groceries, if you need to, after you've checked out. Myself adding Aldi to my grocery store rotation. It's the type of place I would go to pick up. Something very easy for you to cook for dinner. Like the pizzas, salad kits, chicken skewers to grill, etc.

Definitely doesn't live up to the hype, and the "savings" are dubious…read more Aldi in the States are never as good as in Europe (and honestly there are far better chains there too), but for some silly reason I went with heightened expectations, thinking hey, we're in Maine where we already have great shopping options, so it must be decent! Nope. Aldi claims that this store offers "a curated assortment of quality products shoppers want and need" and "exclusive brands," but this is corporate nonsense. What you get is a random assortment of Big Corp off-brands with near-expiration dates, bad produce, and messy aisles with swathes of bare shelves. I went on a Tuesday afternoon, so I at least I was able to avoid any crowds; in fact it was pretty desolate, with maybe 10 of us wandering around. Aside from that positive note (I guess?), here's what I encountered: * nearly all of the produce is in large bags (not good for non-bulk buyers), and the selection is limited (no radishes, e.g.) * I had to scrabble through nearly all of the packs of Romaine lettuce before finding one without rusty leaves * limited frozen veg and fruit (I was hoping to stock up on the fruit in particular for smoothies, but it'll be back to Trader Joe's for that) * random canned goods and condiments, much of which is mega-sized * egg selection limited to icky factory options, with open containers on half-bare shelves * I finally found some plain sparkling water proclaiming to be "from Italy" (snicker), but seriously, not even plain seltzer anywhere? * I found some chicken breast that looks OK, but a lot of the packages were slimy (at which point I gave up looking at any more meat) * did not see any nuts, baking goods, or the like * paper and home goods random and cut-rate (think single-ply) What they do have: lots of big boxes of sugary cereals, frozen pizzas, pre-packaged meals, and what seemed to be an entire aisle of soda and energy drinks in mega-sized bottle packs. Maybe there were some treasures tucked away that I didn't find----but when the rest of what's available is so sub-par and the store organization this bad, why would I waste more time? I'm a single person and I didn't have a huge shopping list, but I wasn't able to get half the stuff on it----so while yeah, maybe I technically saved a few bucks, I still had to stop elsewhere on the way home. So that wasted time + gas being $4.50, my trip to Aldi didn't yield any savings at all, especially considering the low quality. If Europe wants to bring their shopping chains to the US, could we please have Carrefour instead??

A big shout out to the customer service representative, Tammy! She is a big reason why I stay with…read moreBJ's and not move to another big box warehouse store. Tammy is helpful and pleasant, going out of her way to assist me with a search for pants for my husband. In today's world, Tammy IS nice! Thank you BJ's for hiring a person who wants to help!

This branch doesn't seem as busy as the one we went to in Florida, or perhaps even as busy as this…read morelocation used to be. That includes the gas pumps as well. I guess that is good for me but maybe not so good for them. Otherwise the store is very similar to what I am used to as far as selection and service. If you are familiar with them and are considering whether to become a member, the plus is that you can save a lot of money on some items, but not all. Back in Florida some items were less expensive at Aldi's;'s, but there are no Aldi's here in Maine. SO what we buy here easily pays more than the cost of membership. The gas is cheaper than most stations, though a station right down the street tries to compete with it, Not much more to say than that.

BJ's has an OK store but I don't see that their prices are any better than going anywhere results…read moreat this point in time they do however do the same thing all the other stores do you get used to a product and you really like it and then boom they stop selling it

It's an ok store. I'm not a fan of the parking lot and the layout of the gas station. Of course I'm…read morecomparing it to the one in Portland. Most of the parking is located to the side of the store. The gas line always seems to be long and it's because of the layout in my opinion. I'm glad to see so many people shop and get gas here, as I don't want this location to close. The prices were fair prices and still makes the membership worth it. The staff seemed very tired, but nice enough. The selection is decent. We found what we needed. If we are in the area, we will continue to go here. We would not go out of our way.

I absolutely love Papa's Produce and have become a regular customer!…read more Papa's is a separate fresh produce business located inside the Scarborough Mardens. Enter Mardens, turn left and you will see the entrance to Papas. It is also important to note that Papa's is closed on Sunday and Monday, they are open Tuesday-Saturday. With all of that said, Papa's brings amazing prices on all sorts of produce to the people of Southern Maine every week. Papa's makes eating healthy, more affordable. Through their website, they list what they have in stock each day. Here are some of the most amazing deals i've gotten at Papa's over time... 2 packages of blueberries, strawberries or raspberries for $3 A large bag of 6-7 red peppers for $2.50 A bag of red onions for $2 5 lbs of slicing tomatoes for 2.50 Hydroponic strawberries for $1 a pack! All sorts of delicious, sometimes exotic melons for $2 a piece, and sometimes 2 for $3 Also, sometimes there are organic deals as well! You never know what you'll get at Papa's, but if you are cooking for a family and run through fresh fruits and vegetables at a rapid pace, Papa's is THE PLACE for you!

I love getting my fruit from Papa's Produce. I try to come every other week and stock up on berries…read morefor my kid who lives on berries. I am always delighted by the other things on offer- a big package of Chinese eggplant, a carrot the size of my head, my favorite local lettuce at 1/3 the price. The selection varies and you don't know what they will have, but I never walk away empty handed. The fruit is always at the peak of ripeness so you can't store it for too long.

What a lovely little market! This place has it all. Souvenirs? Check. Fresh bread and cheese and…read moremilk? Check. Local goodies, including beers and chocolate and sauces? Check. A biiiit overpriced? You got it! Although a bit expensive for staple food, this was a cute find while walking around Portland. We left with English muffins and some cheese as a way to support the business. We were impressed, however, by their selection. They seriously had it all, including hot food like soups and sandwiches (this as part of Union Kitchen). If looking for local gifts from Maine for a friend, definitely visit Maine's Pantry. Our favorite part about Maine's Pantry was the service. We were immediately welcomed and even had the nicest conversation with the staff.

I'd go elsewhere. Not friendly staff and subpar food. Sandwich was terrible and took forever. A few…read moredoors down there's a wonderful market with amazing offerings which is actually less expensive too.

I am a hardware junkie and have been to many hardware stores in the USA and Europe in my lifetime,…read moreand Ames is one of my very favorites. Thanks especially to Steve in the Wiscasset store paint department, who is always willing to give great advice.

no handycap entrance/no help inside/no online and outside pickup/number of employees a lie they…read morekeep it at 9 supposedly so they dont have to go by fed guidelines of hiring minoritys or offer 401k and family medical leave.greedy owner that wont do the right thing and hire minoritys only family or part time so they dont have to be a real company.double charges on credit card and told too bad take it up with your bank.

Nice, new Hannaford recently opened at Cooks Corner, Brunswick, Maine. Very roomy, well stocked and…read moreso far pretty decent. Plenty of parking. They have a hot bar and salad bar and to go meals. Worth checking out, plus it's in a mall setting, so make it a day out and check the surrounding stores and restaurants.

Terrible. We had our food originally scheduled for pickup yesterday, but had to move the time to…read moretoday. The person working had to check and call me back 4 times to make sure that was okay, even though I already paid for it. He ended up needing to cancel all produce, and reorder. Okay. So today my husband arrives at the store at 9am, and drives 20 min home, only to realize all of our produce was not given to him. My husband called, and spoke to a woman who was working (who was very kind), and assured us that our produce was right that, and to come back. We have now returned back, and the worker (a new one) brought out one bag of produce! We should have at least 4 bags. He said that there was no other produce for us. He is now shopping the store off the clock due to the other workers incompetence. He was great, but terribly run process Edit- Megan (the manager), called me and wanted to talk through exactly what happened. She was extremely sweet and apologetic, and gave us a $50 gift card! Great customer service. Thank you, Megan!

If you want a snack late on Christmas night in Freeport, this is going to be your place. This…read moreCircle K was sold out of most things late that evening (likely, from others in my position), but I was able to rally together a sausage breakfast burrito and a packet of extra sugary honey roasted peanuts. The employee on call was very friendly. Would recommend dropping by if you are in a similar position!

Good and friendly people. Good place to stop and gwt a quick bite to eat. Big ara to get gas.read more