BOWIE, Md. — After years of promises made and promises broken, the District's big Skyland development in Ward 7 is getting a supermarket.
What we don't know is exactly when it will open.
Fast-growing German discount grocer Lidl (the name rhymes with needle) will open its first D.C. store at Skyland Town Center. Washington's Maryland and Virginia suburbs have fewer than 10 Lidl stores already open.
So what's it like to shop at Lidl?
You might say Lidl is a cross between Arkansas-based Walmart Neighborhood Markets; Trader Joe's, which is owned by the parent company of discount grocer Aldi; and Sweden's favorite furniture and food retailer, Ikea.
► MAY 20: Ward 7 grocery store to help residents living in food desert
► MAY 17: Discount grocer Lidl to open 7 Maryland stores
► MAY 16: Walmart shoppers to see prices rise from China tariffs
The store is not huge — about a quarter of the size of the Giants, Safeways and Wegman's in this area — and it has a kind of European sensibility, as befits its German roots.
Lidl has wide aisles with lots of products displayed in boxes, apparently to save money. The company promises high quality and low prices, but the selection is smaller than in a lot of U.S.-based supermarkets
Lidl-branded foods make up the bulk of the offerings, but it has a handful of brand names, too.
On Google Maps, the Bowie store gets 4.4 stars from reviewers with lots of them talking about inexpensive prices. On Yelp, it gets 3.5 stars with some complaining about the layout, which could take some getting used to.
On Twitter, Mayor Muriel Bowser bragged about Lidl coming to D.C., and one critic commented that it was a terrible store. Another talked about some issues the company has had in Europe for allegedly surveilling employees.
► JUNE 2017: America's first Lidl stores open in Hampton, Va. Beach
► JUNE 2017: Aldi to open another 900 stores in US
"I cannot speak to the past issue raised regarding European operations, but what I can tell you is Lidl US has been recognized as an employer of choice," Lidl US spokeswoman Chandler Ebeier said Monday in email. "We strive to always put our people first."
Lidl has almost 10,500 stores in 28 countries across Europe and another 65 now open in the United States. By the end of next year, company officials said it will have 100 up and down the East Coast.
Lidl's biggest competitor in Europe and maybe the United States is Aldi, also based in Germany.
But at Aldi, you have to dig for a quarter to rent a shopping cart. You do get it back when you return the cart.
At Lidl, the carts are freely available.