Janet Rezendes, of Warwick, went home empty-handed. “They don’t have name brands; I was not that impressed,” she said.

The Providence Journal / Steve Szydlowski

CRANSTON — Vehicles, mostly midpriced sedans, pulled into the new parking lot on Pontiac Avenue on Friday morning, a drippy, unseasonably cold day that had the drivers and their companions dressed in windbreakers and sweaters.

Coming mostly from nearby sections of Cranston and Warwick, people were there to check out the new ALDI store on its opening day to get a sense of whether they can save money on groceries.

“[People] are trying to cut corners any way they can,” said Janet Rezendes, as she stood by the store’s entrance, her hands dug into her coat pockets.

Spiking food prices, expensive gasoline and a faltering economy gave Rezendes, who is laid off from work, and other shoppers the push to check out the German discounter. Typically, Rezendes shops at a Shaw’s supermarket in Warwick’s Lakewood section.

The United States is wrestling with the worst food inflation in 17 years and forcing every business that sells food, from bakeries to four-star restaurants, to raise their prices.

“They’re getting pretty high,” Rezendes said, matter-of-factly.

A host of causes are behind the increases, which are shocking American consumers and sparking unrest in poorer nations: booming economies in China and India, bad weather, the dollar’s tumbling value and energy costs.

U.S. food prices rose 4 percent last year, compared with an average 2.5-percent annual rise for the last 15 years, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And the agency says this year could be worse, with prices rising another 4.5 percent.

Some of the price increases have been eye-popping. Eggs cost 25 percent more in February than they did a year ago, according to the USDA. Milk and other dairy products jumped 13 percent, chicken and other poultry nearly 7 percent.

“I read about [ALDI] on an online forum for saving money,” said Gale Bagley, of Warwick.

ALDI claims that its small assortment keeps merchandise familiar to customers and allows it to buy huge quantities at lower prices than competitors.

The company claims its customers can save up to 50 percent over what they would pay in traditional grocery stores because of its strategy.

ALDI carries about 1,300 products in markets about the size of CVS drugstores, compared with a typical supermarket that sells about 30,000 items in stores often the size of airplane hangars. It boasts no-frills markets in which customers will usually find only one brand of an item –– the chain’s own private label –– or a smattering of national names.

“We’re always on the lookout for bargains,” said Joe Norato, who drove from Richmond with his wife, Ann.

They spent $105, he said, saving perhaps $50 or so.

“I’ll be back,” he said, while loading bags into the trunk of their sedan.

With its American headquarters in Batavia, Ill., ALDI entered New England through Connecticut seven years ago. The retailer opened its first Rhode Island store in March, at 444 Quaker Lane, in Warwick.

In addition to the Pontiac Avenue and Quaker Lane stores, the company has begun construction or sought permits for stores at 70 Newport Ave., in East Providence, and 539 Smith St., in Providence.

Both the Cranston and Warwick stores put ALDI in the middle of areas thick with competitors. About a half-mile to the west of the Pontiac Avenue store are a Shaw’s outlet and a Whole Foods Market. Just to the north are Seabra and Price Rite outlets. The ALDI store in Warwick lies just south of a Shaw’s and a Super Stop & Shop, and north of a Dave’s Marketplace.

While Joe Norato sounded willing to skip a trip to Stop & Shop or BJ’s Wholesale Club to shop at an ALDI store, none of those willing to talk to a reporter on Friday said they would shop the discounter exclusively.

“The prices are a little less, but there’s not as much variety,” said Bagley as she pushed a carriage through the wet parking lot.

Rezendes, who left the store empty-handed, had much the same opinion.

“They don’t have name brands; I was not that impressed,” she said before hurrying to catch up with a friend on the way to her car.ALDI Markets

World Hdqts: Essen, Germany

U.S. Hdqts: Batavia, Ill.

Stores:

Worldwide 3,000; U.S. 850; other New England 6

R.I.: Warwick, Cranston; planned in Providence, East Providence

pgrimald@projo.com