On the diminishing list of Popular Outlets Vegas is Being Denied, IKEA ranked pretty high until last year’s news that we’d finally get our own blue-and-yellow emporium of economical furnishings. Thinking of joining Wednesday’s grand-opening crowds—or even queueing up Monday to beat them? You may not have a life, but you do have plenty of time to prepare. Begin here:
• Seriously, wait until Saturday evening, when IKEA can be a ghost town. But don’t wait too long, as July and August traditionally see an ingress of college students shopping for Svirvels (floor lamps), Skubbs (hampers) and Kallaxes (shelving units ideal for vinyl records).
• Oh yeah: Get used to the Scandinavian product names.
• If Wednesday it is, and you plan on ticking a bunch of things off your list, bring an actual list—as well as any measurements of your home and car that large items would require.
• Wear comfortable shoes. IKEA is 351,000 square feet, and heavy items and carts abound. Leave the heels and flip-flops at home.
• Take photos of your (larger) items’ product tags so you can locate them in the warehouse. And once you do, be careful not to pick up the wrong but similarly sized package. You don’t want to return an Undredal because you meant to get a Koppang.
• IKEA doesn’t bag up your purchases unless you bring your own totes or buy their reusable ones.
• Get home and realize your Jokkmokk is missing parts? Some IKEA locations offer spare freebies at the service counter.
• Feel free to bring your little chitlins—and dump them in the Småland free supervised play area.
• Popular items will run out. Loved ones will get lost in the serpentine showrooms. Lines will rival those at the DMV. Employees will be green and overwhelmed. You’ve waited this long, so chill out.
• And where’s a good spot to do that? At the 450-seat IKEA Restaurant, where Swedish meatballs will quickly replace Costco’s pizza as your favorite superstore noshery.
IKEA Opening May 18, 9 a.m. 6500 IKEA Way, 888-888-4532.
