IKEA In Colorado: The Wait Is Almost Over
The below report was filed by CBS4 news producer Duncan Shaw after he was able to attend a sneak peak of the new IKEA store in Centennial on Wednesday.
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (CBS4) - It would not be a stretch to say I'm a fan of IKEA. I once drove to the Chicago location from Denver to buy a desk because I had a three-day weekend and had nothing to do. When I got divorced and half my furniture left with my ex-wife, I bought a dining room table, chairs, barstools, end tables, a bookshelf and a dresser at IKEA while visiting my family in San Francisco – and it all only filled half the back of my Jeep Liberty.
The best cheese grater I have ever owned came from IKEA.
I was thrilled when IKEA announced 2 1/2 years ago that it would finally be coming to Colorado. I've been counting down the days to the opening of the store in Centennial, always looking forward to being able to shop there without taking a multi-state road trip.
While I'll wait at least a month to visit in order to avoid the chaos that always comes with an IKEA opening, I did make my wife jealous and accept the offer for a "sneak preview" during their media event one week before opening day.
Photo Gallery: Sneak Peak At The New Centennial IKEA
The store is exactly what any fan would expect -- and more. At 415,000 square feet it's the second largest IKEA in North America. The winding path past all the sample bedrooms, kitchens and dining rooms is nearly a mile long. It was comforting to see several items I already own still available, and the whole time I was making my list of what I might buy next – bookshelves, storage, and organizational items are what I need the most at the moment. The hardest part was resisting the urge to start pulling boxes off the shelves in the warehouse area and making the store's first purchases!
All that space means more of everything inside. There was a much larger sales area for sheets and towels than I had seen in other stores. The restaurant is huge – it seats nearly 500 people. And while the chairs, bedding and storage items have always been colorful, I noticed a lot more purple items for sale. It must be the current hot color.
My years of waiting for IKEA in Colorado is about to come to an end, but Denver is still missing something. I look forward to the day I no longer have to drive to Salt Lake City or Dallas for my In-N-Out Burger fix.
