5 crazy things we spotted while price-shopping at 16 Raleigh grocery stores

I spent two full days and part of a third driving around to Raleigh grocery stores and recording prices for our 2022 Grocery Price Comparison story.

I saw some wild stuff. Here are five of the weirdest (or coolest) things I spotted.

1. The Aisle of Shame at Aldi (and Lidl)

Come for the butter, stay for the chainsaw.

Nestled inside each Aldi and Lidl discount grocery store is at least one aisle of random, ever-changing products that you might not expect to find in a grocery store: a snowsuit, a weed-eater, a cast iron dutch oven, a maxi dress, a bedside lamp, a cardboard cat chalet. You just never know.

At Aldi, shoppers have named this aisle “The Aisle of Shame,” and you may even hear someone yell out “caw-caw!” from the aisle in an attempt to signal allegiance to other Aisle of Shamers. The Aldi Aisle of Shame Community’s Facebook group has 1.3 million members.

Lidl’s aisles tend to have more big ticket items (I promise you I once saw a chainsaw there) and their online community isn’t as large (the Lidl Nerds group has 28,000 members), but right now both stores have great seasonal items like inflatable swimming pools, deck chairs and compost bins.

2. The British Food section at Publix

While price-shopping at Publix, I noticed one aisle with a nice little row of multicultural food products: Mexican food, Asian food, South Asian food, Kosher food, British food. Wait, what?

There’s a whole section of British food? Is there a demand for that?

I kid, I kid. Yes, I know about the great teas of Britain, but this wasn’t a section of teas (only three boxes of teas in the whole section!). I’m talking Goldenfry’s Yorkshire Pudding Mix, Jammie Dodgers, Burton’s Digestive Biscuits, Batchelor’s Mushy Peas, Aah Bisto! Beef Gravy Granules, Hayward’s Silverskin Pickled Onions, Heinz Salad Cream — and much, much more.

Confession: I’m going back for a Bounty bar.

3. Cheeky T-shirts at Lowes

My second double-take of the day happened on the way out of Lowes Foods, when I spotted a T-shirt that read “Seasoned Butt Rubber.” I know what they mean, but the double (OK triple) entendre made me laugh out loud.

Turns out, Lowes Foods has a surprisingly strong T-shirt game (they’ll run you $18 each). In addition to the Butt Rubber shirt, they have one that features a cool illustration of a chicken’s head with a text bubble reading “What’s up?” on front, and a drawing of a chicken butt on the back. LOVE IT. Another great shirt has a smaller chicken illustration with the words “Chicken shirt” across the chest (and Chicken Kitchen on the back — both shirts are a nod to the store’s celebrated Chicken Kitchen). There’s also a SausageWorks department shirt that reads “My SausageWorks.”

For the more austere, there are shirts with elegant elephant or tiger illustrations, celebrating the store’s Spice Bazaar.

4. Lidl’s punny trash cans

I saw this garbage can on the way into Lidl and can’t stop thinking about it. Yes, high prices are trash.

5. Trader Joe’s umbrella service

So this didn’t happen during my price-shopping, but on a recent walk I met a woman who had just moved here from Pittsburgh and we ended up talking about Trader Joe’s.

She told me that at her Trader Joe’s in Pittsburgh, if it was raining, someone would escort you out to your car with an umbrella. She had told her family in Raleigh about it, thinking it was some amazing thing unique to that store. Then, the week before she and I talked, she had been in Trader Joe’s when a bad rainstorm started and she said she was delighted to see a Trader Joe’s employee taking a shopper out to their car under an umbrella.

Is this for real?

I sent an email to Trader Joe’s corporate office and asked if this is a Trader Joe’s policy or just a couple of really cool store managers taking initiative. Their response: “Our helpful, friendly Crew Members take care in maintaining safe and inviting neighborhood stores; in crafting a warm sense of community. That can include helping customers with groceries on rainy days. Simply put, every time a customer shops with us, we want them to be able to say, ‘Wow! That was enjoyable, and I got a great deal. I look forward to coming back!’”

So yes, feel free to ask for an umbrella escort the next time you’re caught at Trader Joe’s in a rain storm.

This story was originally published July 14, 2022 at 6:00 AM.

Brooke Cain

The News & Observer

Brooke Cain is a North Carolina native who has worked at The News & Observer and McClatchy for more than 30 years as a researcher, reporter and media writer. She is the National Service Journalism Editor for McClatchy.