They opened an Aldi's on the edge of Detroit/suburbia a few years ago. I
was in it once, just to look, never went back or bought anything.

The shelves, at least in this store, were much much lower than in a
traditional grocery store. I'm 5'10, I'll bet the shelves didn't reach
my shoulders, and that's with merchandise on the top shelf. The
shelves/aisles ran the length of the store, so when a cashier looked
out, they could see everything and everyone in the store. And there was
a huge living room picture window sort of thing against the back wall,
one-way glass. Call me paranoid if you want to, but I had a feeling like
someone was sitting behind the glass with a shotgun just waiting for
someone to act up.

It all troubled me so much I never went back.

Does anyone have the dollar store "Deals' by them? They have nice prices
(it's a dollar store, everything is a dollar) and carry a wide array of
food items, as well as the usual dollar store merchandise.

You know those big bottles of IBC root beer or cream soda? In the
grocery store they run around $1.59, $1.79. Just a dollar at Deals.