We went inside Gainesville's new ALDI before Thursday's grand opening

We walked through Gainesville's new ALDI on Wednesday night, the sneak-peek day before the grand opening. The store at 1210 E. U.S. Hwy. 82, at Grand Avenue, was already open for full shopping, and the shelves were stocked end to end.

If you are deciding whether to brave the grand-opening line, here is what is inside.

What you'll find

The layout is the classic ALDI one: long, open aisles under bright strip lights, with most goods still in their shipping boxes on the shelf. That is part of how ALDI keeps prices down, and it makes the store quick to scan.

Produce runs along one side, with a big wall of fresh fruit and vegetables and display bins in the aisle.

A pastry and bagel section sits next to the deli and cheese cases. Quick Meals has its own refrigerated case for heat-and-eat dinners.

Frozen gets a long row of chest freezers down the middle of an aisle, with upright freezers along the wall. Wine has its own aisle, with red wine on a wood-paneled display.

Snacks fill several aisles, including ALDI's own Specially Selected line and an organic section.

Thursday is the grand opening

The grand opening is Thursday, Nov. 5. ALDI's store page lists hours of 9 AM to 8 PM, seven days a week, and it does not post a separate grand-opening start time, so we expect the doors at 9 AM.

The first 200 customers get a numbered Golden Ticket. Per ALDI's rules, each ticket is a gift card worth between $5 and $100, picked at random. You must be 18 or older and live within 50 miles, and no purchase is needed. The first 200 also get a free bag of ALDI products, and staff hand out shopping totes through the day while they last.