LIDL
Opened: February 4, 2026
Welcome to the newest LIDL! Of course, this won't be the newest for long, as a Kips Bay location in Manhattan is set to open on February 26. I visited Totowa, which opened on February 4, that morning shortly after the doors opened for the first time, but I wasn't able to get the pictures posted until now. So let's check out the new store!
At a little over 27,000 square feet, this is on the smaller side for LIDL, although their newer stores seem to be getting smaller. Their expansion seems to be still going strong in the New York metro area, with at least three or four I can think of in progress within the city itself. I don't see much expansion outside of the NY metro area recently, though.
This is a very narrow and deep store, with produce and bakery in the front-left corner. Deli/cold cuts and meat/seafood are in the back half of the first aisle, with dairy on the back wall and frozen in the last aisle on the right side. The "Midl of LIDL" nonfoods department here is very small, much smaller than stores LIDL was opening just a couple years ago. A note before we get too far into the interior: I was surprised to see that LIDL actually extensively remodeled the exterior of the store, and you can see the previous exterior here.
I really do like this signage. It's sharp and modern looking, and it's really not a problem that the stores are kinda boring inside because the decor being no-frills is pretty much a given in a discount store environment.
As you can see, there were quite a few customers here early to check out the store on opening day.
This store competes with a relatively new ALDI just up route 46 (basically across the street) along with a number of other supermarkets pretty close by. A ShopRite and fairly new SuperFresh are just east on route 46, along with a short-lived Amazon Fresh.
Refrigeration continues down the first aisle and lines the back wall. You can tell it's opening day -- it's very rare that LIDLs are this well-stocked and orderly, though in my experience they tend to do a better job of that than ALDI.
Because of how deep the store is, meat/seafood are behind rather than across from deli/cold cuts.
And dairy lines the back wall.
The aisles are standard if very long.
And a very small Midl of LIDL, sans the signature signage. I do wonder if this section doesn't make as much money as they were hoping, so they're de-emphasizing it.
Here, the nonfoods section is only one aisle (technically two half-aisles, I guess).
Dairy continues down part of the last aisle with frozen in the front half.
I'm also a big fan of this red signage for the deals, which I've pointed out at other locations. It's eye-catching and easy to find. In a price-focused store, that's essential.
And the registers at the front...
That's all for this new LIDL, though I'll check out the other new stores in the area once they open. For now, here's this weekend's other posts...
Opened: February 4, 2026
Owner: Schwarz Group
Previous Tenants: non-grocery tenants
Cooperative: none
Location: 545 US-46, Totowa, NJ
Photographed: February 4, 2026
I checked out this location about 4 days after it opened and it was still being stocked impeccably. I think this is a big new change they've made recently by upping man hours. My LIDL is now beautifully stocked on the regular, which was never the case until recently.
ReplyDeleteIs it safe to call this version of LIDL 3.0? I'm a fan, although I really love the décor in my store like the faux exposed brick walls. Still, this latest version is extremely focused on messaging and deals. Outstanding branding as far as I'm concerned. Also note the croissant "icon" sign above the bakery. 49 cents fresh baked croissants is their hook and it's working. The bakery at my LIDL is often mobbed with shoppers.
LIDL has clearly downsized their footprints for new stores as this location could have been much bigger had they taken the entire space left from Staples. It does feel more like ALDI now... but clean! The nearby ALDI is an absolute disaster. I've been in there in the early morning hours and the shelves are completely empty. The success of ALDI is always a mystery to me as it's the most unreliable food store one could go to.
The "middle of LIDL" does appear to have not been as successful as they were hoping. My store just removed 1/2 of the bins. I knew something was up last fall when bins were not being restocked. It was really surprising in December leading up to Christmas that no new merchandise was being brought in and nearly 1/2 the bins were just plain empty.
A cool new addition to this LIDL is an actual "Customer Service" department! It's not much more than a checkout stand but still nice to see the signage for where assistance can be obtained.
One weird thing about this location is the music was only working at the front-end. LIDL has really stepped up their playlists recently and have now started playing pre-recorded messages. Fortunately not as relentless as ACME's! All in all, LIDL has definitely stepped up there efforts with the finer details of running a grocery store. While there may be trouble afoot with latest CEO resigning recently, I for one love me some LIDL!
Give it a month. It’ll be a dump like the rest of them. Their stores are trash sorry lol
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