Even when Aldi first came here and was a depressing place that smelled funny, only took cash and EBT cards, and was mostly shopped by first gen Somali immigrants (that's fine, Somalis gotta eat too) I recognized the quality of their weird private brands. The fresh produce wan't much, but they had pretty a good freezer section. And very good European chocolates :D So I shopped there mostly for canned goods, cereal, and dairy, and bought fresh meat and produce elsewhere. They have gotten *much* better in recent year; even before they remodeled the stores they started selling more and better produce and meats, and a lot more prepackaged bakery items besides just tortillas and sliced bread.
Now the place looks a lot like Trader Joe's but less fancy.