BATAVIA, IL – German-originated retailer, Aldi, is expanding its reach in the U.S. to encompass the western seaboard.

The chain has announced a plan for an estimated 45 stores in Southern California, with the first eight slated to open on Thursday, March 24.

“Ever since we announced our plan to bring ALDI to Southern California, the positive response from people across the Southland has been overwhelming, and we’re excited to start opening stores next month and throughout the year,” Gordon Nesbit, Moreno Valley Division Vice President for ALDI, said, according to a press release. “There is a strong appetite among Southern Californians for an alternative place to shop and we are eager to show them the significant benefits that can come from shopping at ALDI, both for their wallets and lifestyles.”

And the retailer’s excitement to meet this new market is tangible when going to its U.S. website, calling out to Californians to apply and listing a number of posts about what it has to offer. Currently Aldi expects to hire about 1,100 people in Southern California by the end of this year.

Each Aldi grand opening will entail a three-day-long event, which kicks off with  ribbon-cutting ceremony at the first locations’ openings on March 24 at 8:45 a.m.

Among the benefits of being first-time shoppers at the store will be an onsite sweepstakes for a chance to win “Produce for a Year,” as well as a complimentary ALDI reusable eco-bag for those who come in on March 24, 25, and 26.

“We’ve been selling groceries in the U.S. for 40 years, growing deliberately and steadily throughout the country,” said Nesbit. “Shoppers who appreciate high-quality groceries at an exceptional value are everywhere, and California is no exception. We are confident once Southern California shoppers get to know us, they’ll come to love us.”

Aldi offers a variety of organic and gluten free items including:

• Organic fruit
• Organic vegetables
• Meat
• Dairy
• Organic and gluten-free packaged food items

The retailer also promises the state an easy-to-shop, consistent layout of 10,000 to 11,000-square-feet and four to five aisles.

Aldi concluded that these opening are a significant milestone in its coast-to-coast expansion, a five-year strategic plan to open 650 new stores across the U.S., bringing its total to nearly 2,000 stores by the end of 2018.

Aldi U.S.