Lidl is a German-owned, Europe wide chain that I used when I was living in the UK. It has a very successful marketing strategy which amounts to "pile em high sell em cheap" as its UK rival Tesco used to say. Almost everything sold is its own brand and they had very good results with that. They often won blind tastings certainly on wine but also on cheese as well as other things. The store is no-frills, many of the goods are in boxes. They had suppliers from all over Europe so that they could have a Greek month or Spanish or Italian where they would offer goods from those countries on special offer. The last time I was in the UK I found their prices were unexpectedly lower than their American equivalents particularly for things like smoked salmon or specialty cheeses, booze almost an across the board better price. They have become a major player in the UK supermarket scene and really in Europe as well. If you go to a Lisbon Lidl or Prague or anywhere they have a reassuring sameness.
If they are opening in Astoria I would certainly give them a try. I suppose it goes without saying that I was firmly in the Lidl camp.The only caveat is how much they might have changed to adapt to the American market. If they continue the products they had sold in Europe at the same price here they will be one of the few success stories of our depressed and suffering city.
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