Residents will have a new option for where they get their groceries as ALDI has officially opened its doors at the Dartmouth Mall.

The 21,000-square foot grocery store began operation on Sept. 23 after what Divisional Vice President Chris Daniels said was a successful “soft launch” the day before.

“We’ve had a great welcoming,” he said. “It’s exciting to be here in Dartmouth.”

The store is run by Dartmouth native Chelsea Pontes. 

While the new ALDI has only been open a couple of days, she said there has already been a steady stream of curious customers eager for deals.

“There was a lot of foot traffic, definitely more than I thought there’d be,” Pontes said. “I hope it’s a good impression of things to come.”

Along with its usual array of low-priced products, Pontes noted that each week, the store will have limited-time items as part of its “ALDI finds.”

For its opening week, the German-based supermarket is highlighting German products.

“Kind of makes sense to do that,” Pontes said with a laugh.

The Dartmouth location is part of what the company calls an “aggressive national expansion.” ALDI operates more than 2,000 stores in 37 states and is on track to become the third-largest U.S. grocery retailer by store count by the end of 2022, according to the company.

The new store is open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.