Lidl

Never heard of it? Oh, you will, and sooner than later. Many a European shopper depends on this fiercely budget German supermarket chain, a strong competitor with Aldi back home, and now, here too, looks like. The concept is similar to both Aldi and Trader Joe’s—smaller footprints, lots of private label, lots of low prices—but for Lidl’s American debut, the company went almost overboard, throwing wide the doors to a series of light-filled, reasonably-organized stores, making grocery shopping that much more pleasant for anyone on any kind of budget, all up and down the East Coast, from New Jersey to the Carolinas.