Aldi will officially open in Nacogdoches on October 16, 2025, with a ribbon-cutting at 8:30 a.m. and a customer sneak peek the day before. The store will anchor Nacogdoches Marketplace II, a center that has transformed from woodland into one of the city’s busiest retail spots — and it has a surprisingly layered history.
Before the Shopping Center
Back in 1931, the site was little more than open land with scattered trees, surrounded by farmland typical of East Texas. By 1969, suburban growth had started to push northward, with new neighborhoods and roads edging closer, but the property itself remained untouched. Even as late as 2004, aerials show the land still heavily wooded, sitting quietly while the rest of North Street filled in around it.
From Bealls to Stage
That silence ended in 2007, when construction crews cleared the site and built Nacogdoches Marketplace II, an 84,016-square-foot shopping center. By 2013, Bealls had become the first anchor, drawing shoppers with its familiar department store lineup. A few years later, in 2016, Bealls was rebranded as Stage as part of Stage Stores’ corporate consolidation. For a while, it looked like the center had found its stride.
But the retail shakeups of the 2010s hit hard. In 2020, Stage Stores filed for bankruptcy and shut down every location, leaving a dark anchor and an uncertain future for the property.
Big Lots and Now Aldi
The center didn’t stay quiet for long. By 2022, Big Lots stepped in, bringing discount home goods, furniture, and closeout deals to the space. That move gave the property new life and kept traffic flowing to the smaller tenants around it.
Now, Aldi is preparing to open its doors. Known for its no-frills shopping experience, private-label brands, and low prices, the chain has been expanding steadily across Texas. For Nacogdoches, Aldi offers something different — a compact grocery store that will anchor a retail center with a long history of change, and one that’s about to start its newest chapter.
Last Updated on October 12, 2025 by F.E.M