Western-Star.com

A grocery chain with stores worldwide but specializing in low costs and no frills is planning on opening a Lebanon location in 2009.

The 10,000-square-foot Aldi store would be located on Columbus Avenue near the Ohio 48 Bypass.

While the land sale isn't finalized, Aldi spokeswoman

Tina-Marie Adams said the company is "confident they'll be proceeding" with construction beginning in May 2009. The store would open for business in the fall of that year.

"Lebanon is a great community with a large concentration of grocery shoppers," Adams said. "It's a growing market, and we feel we will offer shoppers a great choice in their needs."

Aldi markets itself on providing prices "up to 50 percent less than traditional stores." Adams said the store achieves this by providing specialty brands, "refined" shopping hours (stores are only open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday), and having a "no-nonsense approach" to grocery shopping.

"We have no bankers, no pharmacies, no photo labs," Adams said. "We are strictly about groceries."

Shoppers also have to buy bags and rent carts at the store, but Adams emphasizes that the bags are reusable.

The store will bring 10-12 jobs to Lebanon. The grocery chain began in Germany, but has an autonomous U.S. division headquartered in Batavia, Ill.

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