In June, residents of Garfield lobbied celebrated years of effort when Bottom Dollar opened a grocery on Penn Avenue. But that elation was dashed just months later when the store and 66 others throughout the state were purchased by ALDI and subsequently closed.
Residents can now breath a sigh of relief because ALDI has announced it will reopen the Penn Avenue location under its banner by the end of the year.
“ALDI said they would work to achieve a positive outcome for the community with this site, no matter what would happen, and they were true to their word,” said Mayor Bill Peduto in a statement released March 25.
Peduto and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald had lobbied the company to reopen this and other closed Bottom Dollar locations. Brent Laubaugh, vice president for ALDI’s Saxonburg division said about half of the former Bottom Dollars across the state would be reopened, nine more of them locally.
In addition to the Garfield site, ALDI will reopen stores in Aliquippa, Butler Township’s Bon Aire Plaza, Carnegie, Homestead, McKeesport, Baldwin, Ross and in Penn Hills on Saltsburg Road.
The company will not reopen stores located in Ambridge, Bridgeville, Butler Township’s Butler Crossing site, Castle Shannon, McKees Rocks, New Castle and on Frankstown Road in Penn Hills.
Aggie Brose, executive director of the Bloomfield Garfield Corp., said the announcement to reopen the Penn Avenue location was like “Christmas come early.”
“It means there will be access to affordable, quality groceries for our neighbors,” she said.
Brose, who took part in several protests with neighborhood residents following the closing had vowed to purchase the former Bottom Dollar building and find another grocery vendor if ALDI had not reopened the store.
Though the company said multiple factors including terrain, ease of access, parking and population density—ALDI has another nearby location on Baum Boulevard—went into determining which stores to reopen, in Garfield “the community certainly made an impact.”
Depending on size, each ALDI store employs between 12 and 25 people. Laubaugh said the store is already beginning the search for new employees. ALDI’s parent company plans to add 400 stores across the country to increase its footprint to 2,000 total stores by 2018.
Peduto said the positive outcome was the result of teamwork.
“This is another great example of what happens when Pittsburgh business, neighborhood and our government leaders—including Executive Fitzgerald and City Councilwoman Deb Gross—come together to work for the common good,” he said.
Community activist speaks
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