After 35 years in Richmond, and 30 at its Sweden Way location, IKEA's new and bigger store, immediately next door on Jacombs Road, is set to open today.
And when it does, Theresa Visintin will be first in line.
The Vancouver resident has been living on the premises in a plexiglass box, furnished by IKEA, for days, waiting for the doors to open.
Visintin is the winner of Virgin Radio's online IKEA contest, according to promotions coordinator Amy Norton. She has to live in the plexiglass box, only leaving for bathroom breaks, until opening day morning (Wednesday) to win a $10,000 Ikea gift certificate. As of Tuesday afternoon (her fourth day) she was still in the box.
Visintin will also get first dibs on some of the store's new features.
While the new store still houses a similar number of items, around 9,000, the chain aims to present them in a new, more expansive "fresh inspirational" way, said manager Maya Abdou.
Customers will likely notice the rise from 31 to 51 of so-called "inspirational room settings"
Along with a new Swedish Food Market, 600 seats are replacing the current 100-seater restaurant.
Parking (which will include underground spots for the first time) will shoot from 780 to 1,400; everything will be "all under one roof " so the current need to visit another building to collect certain items is being eradicated.
