Merriam Ikea customers line up for Wednesday opening

Two days waiting in line to get a free sofa seemed like a good deal to Toiya Franklin.

So without any pre-planning, Franklin rushed from her Overland Park home Monday morning to the new Merriam Ikea store at Interstate 35 and Johnson Drive. She got the No. 1 spot in line and if she’s still there when the store opens at 9 a.m. Wednesday morning she’ll be one of 40 people in line to receive a $399 Ektorp sofa with white Blekinge cover. Her friend Mindi Bruce, also of Overland Park, nabbed the No. 2 spot.

“I want the sofa. But I don’t know about the white cover. I have grandkids,” Franklin said. “And we’ll have to have family members bring us some things to eat.”

No. 3 in line, Robert Garcia, was recently laid-off and is staying with friends in Blue Springs. He plans to give his sofa to a couple he knows from church. In turn, they will stop by after work to bring food and other items to make the next two days more comfortable for Garcia.

After the 40 people receiving free sofas, the next 100 people will receive a $69 Poang armchair with a birch frame and Alme Natural cushion. The next 2,500 people in line will receive a “mystery” envelope containing an Ikea gift card (1,345 people will get a $10 gift card, 100 people will get a $50 card, 50 people will get a $100 card and 5 people will get a $250 card). Ikea also will hand out ‘buy one, get one free’ coupons for cinnamon buns, frozen yogurt and hot dogs.

On Thursday, the first 40 people in line will get a $299 Sultan Hallen queen mattress, and the next 100 people will receive $59 towards the cost of home delivery for a purchase that day.

On Friday, the first 40 people in line will receive 12 coupons for a 15-piece meatball plate once a month for the next year. The next 100 people in line receive an Ikea food tote bag and voucher to fill up the bag from its Swedish Food Market. The first 100 children in line get a free frozen yogurt.

Ikea once had customers standing in line for two or three weeks for new store openings. But in 2006, Ikea decided to limit the line to just 48 hours pre-opening.

Merriam Ikea has spent about six months putting together an opening day traffic plan. All vehicles will enter Ikea Way from Johnson Drive, which will be converted to a one-way street southbound. It has 1,200 parking spaces on-site. Ikea also will have off-site parking for 700 to 800 vehicles at the former Kmart at 8703 W. 63rd St., with shuttles to take customers to the store.

Regular store hours will be 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

This story was originally published September 8, 2014 at 11:59 AM with the headline "Merriam Ikea customers line up for Wednesday opening."