Home Swede Home

At grand-opening galas in America, it is traditional to cut a ribbon. But the Swedish have another tradition for similar milestones: They saw a log in half.

So when IKEA at 2206 S. Columbus Blvd. opens its doors to the public on Wednesday, a city official — possibly Mayor John Street — will cut a log in two.

Whenever the Swedish retail giant opens a store, IKEA pays tribute to its motherland by sawing a log, said Joseph Roth, IKEA’s director of expansion public affairs.

Roth and other IKEA North America officials — including design director Mats Nielson of Sweden — and South Philly store manager Allesandra Taffe welcomed invited guests at yesterday’s VIP/press preview.

After Nielson presented a slide show of the company’s history and product designs through the decades, visitors toured the 311,000-square-foot store in the new Columbus Commons shopping plaza.

Nielson described IKEA as "good, functional furniture that works and at a price people can afford."

Last Friday, Taffe and her 350 employees — 20 percent of whom live in South Philly — were busy putting the finishing touches on the 50 showrooms.

"We’re getting there! It’s exciting," said the 43-year-old Taffe, a former assistant store manager at IKEA’s Elizabeth, N.J., store.

Two employees who live in South Philly were busy yesterday readying the store for next week’s grand opening.

Computer systems specialist Kate Foti, who lives near Snyder Avenue and Carlisle Street, recently moved back to the area from Michigan and was thrilled to land a job close to home.

Foti was especially pleased with the level of training her new employer provided.

"IKEA’s been great. I’ve worked for a lot of companies over the years and this is probably my favorite," she said.

Cashier Dan Fields, who lives near 22nd Street and Snyder Avenue, also is having a good work experience.

"I love it," he said. "Management and higher-ups seem to really care about their coworkers. It’s just a great environment. I like to come to work in the morning."

IKEA purchased 21 acres of the former CSX Corp. railyard’s 45-acre site to build the store, Roth said.

Lowe’s, Linens N Things, Best Buy and Chammp’s sports bar are currently under construction on the remaining acres, with Lowe’s set to open next month. A Chick-Fil-A restaurant also will open at the site.

Taffe is hoping Columbus Commons will revitalize the area.

"From the overwhelming response from workers and customers, there seems to have been a real need for more quality shopping," she said.

Several local furniture stores contacted about their new mammoth competitor declined to comment.

Neville Vakharia, who lives in Queen Village with wife Lisa and 14-month-old son Zane, thinks IKEA will attract more major retailers to the area.

No need to sell Vakharia and his wife on the Swedish giant, though, because they’re already big fans.

Their home on the 400 block of Fulton Street contains a custom kitchen from IKEA, along with other household furniture, accessories and picture frames. "We really like the store. It’s affordable design. I’m just excited it’s coming to Philadelphia because it’s bringing the amenities people expect that live in the city," Vakharia said.

He even suggests that the store could boost Philadelphia’s population.

"I think it will attract and retain families to live in the city," Vakharia said. "If people have to keep fleeing to the suburbs to do their shopping, they will just move out there."

IKEA is banking on not only city dwellers like the Vakharias, but South Jersey and Delaware suburbanites to make its Columbus Boulevard location a success.

"It is the second store in Philadelphia and we feel very strongly that we can answer to the needs of the people who live here," Roth said. "We also think we’ll have a new market with people who live in South Jersey and Delaware who might not have been willing to make the trip to Conshohocken."

The first IKEA to open in America in 1985 was a test store in Plymouth Meeting; that store has since relocated to Conshohocken.

Roth is part of an IKEA team that conducts market analysis to determine whether an area can support more than one store. If the answer is yes, IKEA aims to space the stores out by 30-40 miles, he said.

"We knew immediately in terms of density of customers that a store closer to the heart of the city would accommodate more of the urban customers as well as be closer to the folks in South Jersey and Delaware," said the director.

IKEA was drawn to the Columbus Boulevard site in part because of its proximity to Interstate-95.

However, urbanites who don’t drive need not worry. The new IKEA is accessible by public transportation, and the retailer offers home delivery.

The South Philly IKEA represents two firsts for the Swedish retailer.

It is the first urban store in the United States and the first one to stay open until 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, Roth noted. All other stores close at 9 p.m.

Visitors can enjoy Scandinavian specialties such as Swedish meatballs, salmon, herring and lingonberries in the 300-seat cafeteria-style restaurant. Hot dogs, cinnamon buns and baby food are available at the Caf� Bistro. And for those who want to bring a little touch of Sweden home with them, treats and candies can be purchased at a food market located past the checkout lanes.

The store also features a supervised children’s play area that replicates the look of a typical Swedish farmhouse and forest. Close to 1,500 parking spaces will help accommodate crowds.

Before IKEA broke ground May 13, 2003, at the former CSX site, some hurdles had to be cleared.

The retailer had to petition the city for the land to be rezoned from industrial use to commercial.

Opposition to the rezoning from the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority and Local 1291 of the International Longshoremen’s Association — both of which wanted to preserve the land for industrial port use — had IKEA eyeing sites across the river. One of those sites was the Garden State Race Track, confirmed Roth.

"I was glad to see the city not bungle this opportunity," said Vakharia, who added that he thinks IKEA will generate more city wage tax and new tax revenue.

Roth agreed that the store will get local dollars flowing.

"We’re actually very excited that this store here in Philadelphia will have a very positive economic-catalyst role in the whole economic redevelopment of the area," he said.

IKEA FUN FACTS

* The retailer was founded in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, who grew up on a farm called Elmtaryd in the parish of Agunnaryd in Sweden.

* The name IKEA was formed by combining the founder’s initials with that of his farm and parish.

* IKEA started out as a mail-order company with its first catalog debuting in 1950.

* The first U.S. store opened in 1985 in Plymouth Meeting.

* There are more than 200 stores in 32 countries, with 21 in the United States.

* In 2003, IKEA was named in Working Mother magazine’s 18th annual list of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" and was honored with the magazine’s Family Champion award for family-friendly programs.