Lindsay Toler
The view from IKEA's rooftop. Can you spot the Arch?
IKEA opens its store in St. Louis today, and if you didn’t know that, you were the last one to find out.
As with anything else, St. Louisans seem torn about the new store. Some are excited about the affordable furniture and meatballs. Others are hoping IKEA will improve St. Louis’ local economy. And still others wish the whole thing would just go away.
So as St. Louis hits (what we hope is) peak IKEA mania on Opening Day, here’s a breakdown of the five types of people you’ll meet today and how to handle them:
1. The Freaker-Outers
These are the people who are *freaking out* at IKEA’s opening. They’ve been dreaming of and planning for this day ever since the news first broke at the Swedish furniture chain would open here. And there are so many people in this category that KTVI (Channel 2) had to call in its news helicopter to get a full shot of the crowd.
If you meet a Freaker-Outer today, prepare yourself for an hour-long lecture about the benefits of assembling your own furniture and Swedish pronunciation. Just look at all the fanatic smiles on the faces of these shoppers, who camped out in a parking lot for days to be first in line for the store.
2. The Reluctant Resisters
Then there are those who thought they’d be able to stay away from the IKEA mania. They’re not as fanatical as the Freaker-Outers yet, but after their first taste of meatball, they might catch the fever.
3. The Vicarious Shoppers
These are the people who wish they could be at IKEA today but must settle for living through their friends and Twitter followers. If you’re going to IKEA today, they’ll want you to tell them—and to bring them home something.
4. The Booster Club
These are the people who are happy IKEA is bringing jobs and shoppers to St. Louis—but don’t expect to find them in line on opening day. They prefer to celebrate the economic impact of today’s news (or, as some businesses have done, capitalize on it) without entering the scrum.
5. The Bah-Hum-Buggers
They are not excited IKEA is here. Maybe they don’t like the furniture. Maybe they don’t like the traffic. Maybe they just don’t like anything. No matter how they feel, they’re not the ones to call when you need help assembling your new futon.
Contact Lindsay Toler by an email at LToler@stlmag.com or on Twitter @StLouisLindsay. For more from St. Louis Magazine, subscribe or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
