Aldi and Sierra Trading Post will replace Babies 'R' Us in Richfield

Budget supermarket chain Aldi and activewear retailer Sierra Trading Post will replace the Babies 'R' Us store at the Shops at Lyndale center in Richfield, city officials announced.

The store closed in April as part of the bankruptcy of its parent company, Toys 'R' Us.

The new 23,000-square-foot Aldi store at 900 W. 78th St. will open in the second half of 2019. It will be about 3 miles away from an Aldi store in Richfield on Penn Avenue S.

The new Sierra Trading Post will be the company's third store in the Twin Cities. The first opened in Eagan in 2016 and the second in Woodbury last year. The Richfield store will be about the same size as the other two, at 19,000 square feet. The Cheyenne, Wyo.-based off-price retailer sells outdoor equipment, camping and hiking gear, apparel and home accessories. It is owned by TJX Cos., which also includes T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods.

It started selling through catalogs in 1998 and later online until TJX bought the brand in 2012. TJX has since doubled its brick-and-mortar footprint to about 35 stores across the country.

Aldi will finish the year with 63 stores in Minnesota, an increase of five stores in the past year. More Minnesota stores — in Minneapolis (a former Rainbow on 26th Avenue S.), Princeton, and Marshall — will open by the end of next month, and a store in Virginia, Minn., opened last week. In 2019, Aldi plans to open eight more stores in the state, including in Cloquet, Chaska, Lakeville and Uptown.

Shops at Lyndale, near I-494 and Lyndale Avenue S., was built in two phases in 1994 and 1995. Owned and managed by CSM Corp., it has successfully replaced several retailers that went bankrupt.

"We are excited to welcome Aldi and Sierra Trading Post to Shops at Lyndale," Justin Wing, the leasing director who represented CSM, said in a statement. "Quality and affordability are top-of-mind for consumers and both of these retailers excel at providing both to their customers."

John Ewoldt • 612-673-7633