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If the groundbreaking caused you to break out in a cold sweat and if watching the walls go up made your pulse go up, I have an idea you're already nuts about Ikea. And you're not alone; next Wednesday thousands of people are expected for the Tampa store's grand opening. Customers can start camping out on Monday morning.
"It's a lot of entertainment and fun and a lot of pent-up excitement about the opening," says Ikea store manager Monica Varela.
Right now, all sorts of workers are scurrying about, putting finishing touches on this home décor mecca. The place is huge-353,000 square feet. Follow the arrows on the floor and you'll find furniture for every room in your house and a dizzying array of accessories.
"We encourage our customers to test drive our products, so they'll sit in the sofas and plop themselves down on the beds," says Varela.
And here's where the cost savings comes in. Most of the furniture comes in flat packaging, so you grab a cart, find your items in the whale of a warehouse and put them together yourself at home. Varela explains it this way, "At Ikea, we say you do a little, we do a little and together we save a lot of money."
And while shoppers will be busy feasting their eyeballs, their kids can be in the supervised play area having a ball.
Feeling faint? Just take a break at the restaurant. You'd hate to actually drop while you shop.
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