Aldi is under construction in the former Orchard Supply Hardware store on Old Irvine Boulevard in Tustin.

The one-time OSH has stood empty since 2018 when Lowe's, its parent company, shuttered all 99 hardware stores. The site, which locals will retrieve every bit Tustin Lanes, is being converted into two retail spaces, i of which will house Aldi. The second tenant has however to be identified. Aldi is taking roughly one-half of the available 42,000 square feet.

An Aldi sign on the construction fence at 1091 Old Irvine Blvd. site exclaims "coming shortly" in English and Spanish, but the building conversion, with exterior walls missing, appears to be in the early stages.

The disbelieve grocery shop is joining a "retail bullseye" in Tustin, an apt description used by existent estate brokers at Epstein & Associates.

An Aldi grocery store is under construction in the former OSH building on Old Irvine Boulevard in Tustin. The site is being split into two retail stores. (Samantha Gowen/SCNG)

Aldi volition indeed be part of a popular retail scene at the corner of Newport Avenue and Irvine Boulevard. The retail centers in that location include Trader Joe'southward, Smart & Last, Grocery Outlet and a nearby Albertsons. Other ballast tenants in the shopping district include Kohl's, Michael's and Petco.

The German language grocery store, with its U.S. base in Batavia, Ill., is known for its discounted produce and packaged foods, which are mostly knock-offs of national brands. The company fifty-fifty goes so far as to mimic brand packaging for many of its products. For instance, the familiar blue and yellow colors used by Best Foods (Hellman's) is besides used on Aldi'due south Burman'due south Existent Mayonaise. Aldi's Fruit Rounds cereal looks a lot like Fruit Loops. The same copycat method shows up on boxes of mac north' cheese, snacks, cheese and more.

Aldi, which is a contraction of the name Albrecht Discount, is relatively new in California though it debuted in the U.S. in 1976. The company opened its first eight Southern California stores in 2016 followed past several more than in 2017.

The concatenation keeps its overhead costs down by stacking products in boxes rather than on typical supermarket shelves. Customers, who take to bag their own groceries, insert a quarter into a shopping cart and so return the shopping cart to the store in order to retrieve their quarter.

In July 2021, the company said it would be calculation 100 stores across the U.S. in its latest expansion push. Aldi operates 8 stores in Orange County, 88 stores throughout California and roughly 2,000 total in 36 states.

OSH closed all 99 of its stores in 2018, including six in Orange County.