OREANDA-NEWS. July 02, 2015. IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today announced that its future St. Louis store will open 9 a.m. on Wednesday, September 30, 2015, expanding the IKEA presence in the Midwestern United States. It will be the Swedish company’s first store in Missouri, and 41st in the U.S., with the closest IKEA stores in: Chicago-area Bolingbrook and Schaumburg; and Merriam, KS. Customers can begin lining-up at the store on Monday, September 28, 2015 – 48 hours in advance of the doors’ opening on September 30 – and soon can learn of more grand opening plans and promotions at IKEA-USA.com/StLouis.

“We are thrilled by the construction progress made to date, and believe the remaining milestones and interior build-up will be completed by end of September,” noted John Achillea, store manager of the future IKEA St. Louis. “Besides furnishing our store, we are focused on training the 300 coworkers joining the IKEA family.”

The 380,000 square-foot future IKEA St. Louis is being built on 21 acres along Interstate-64 at Vandeventer Avenue, with 1,300 parking spaces, in the City’s Cortex Innovation District. The store will reflect the unique architectural design for which IKEA is known worldwide, and Missouri’s largest rooftop solar array, consistent with the IKEA renewable energy presence at 90% of its U.S. locations.

IKEA St. Louis will feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 450-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the Showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store, and preferred parking.