Aldi snags big box retail spaces left vacant by Big Lots, trampoline park

Article originally posted on Phoenix Business Journal on March 31, 2026

Aldi is taking up several big box retails spaces around the Valley that were left vacant by struggling retailers including Big Lots and shuttered trampoline parks, according to documents filed with Maricopa County.

Since the beginning of March, the discount grocery chain has signed three leases that were filed with the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office. The new stores will be in Phoenix, Peoria and Cave Creek.

The grocery chain is already in the process of opening several new stores in the Valley, adding to the more than a dozen already in operation.

The German grocer, which has its U.S. headquarters in Illinois, opened its first store in Arizona in 2020 and has grown steadily since then. This year it plans on opening at least 10 new stores in the Valley.

Phoenix is one of the most competitive grocery markets in the nation, but with the Valley’s population continuing to grow, there is a lot of demand for new supermarkets. Several specialty players in the grocery industry are expanding here including Phoenix-based Sprouts Farmers Market, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods Market, Vallarta Supermarkets and 99 Ranch Market.

Aldi signed a 10-year lease for a 24,655-square-foot retail space at the Tatum Point shopping center at intersection of Tatum Blvd and Bell Road in Phoenix, according to county documents. Aldi will be taking up space formerly occupied by Big Lots in the center which is shadow anchored by a Walmart Supercenter.

The Tatum Point lease is with the center’s owner California-based Tatum Venture LLC. The deal comes with five options to extend the lease for five years.