Swedish Retailer Ikea to Open Store in Tampa

Food & Beverage Close-Up, June 8, 2009

FOOD AND BEVERAGE CLOSE-UP-8 June 2009-Swedish Retailer Ikea to Open Store in Tampa(C)2008 - CloseUpMedia - newsdesk@closeupmedia.com

With company representatives, local officials and community leaders on-hand, home furnishings retailer Ikea this week officially broke ground for its future store in Tampa, Florida.

Ikea said the Tampa store is set to open this summer as the third Ikea store in Florida, sixth in the Southeast and 37th in the United States.

The 353,000 square-foot Ikea Tampa, with 1,700 parking spaces, will be built on 29 acres along Adamo Drive at 22nd Street and the Crosstown Expressway, and will employ approximately 400 coworkers when the new store opens.

The future Ikea Tampa will present nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, three model home interiors, approximately 50 room settings, a supervised children s play area, a 300-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features will include a Children s Ikea area in the showroom, baby care rooms, preferred parking and play areas throughout the store.

We appreciate the reception given to us by officials and community leaders here. Now that construction has begun, it is exciting to see physical progress toward the future Ikea Tampa, said Michael Maier, Ikea real estate manager. We will be bringing our unique family-friendly shopping experience closer to more than 100,000 Ikea customers in the Tampa Bay area who currently are shopping at our other stores. This location also will attract new customers from throughout the Gulf Coast of Florida who value good design, good function and affordable prices.

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