Syracuse’s IKEA will be different: Smaller inventory and fewer showrooms, but same meatballs

Syracuse, NY - When you walk into the new IKEA Syracuse store planned for Destiny USA, it will look different from others you may have visited across the world.

This IKEA will be smaller than the behemoth, double-decker stand-alone stores in places near Toronto, Boston and New York City.

The Syracuse location won’t have all the warehouse space — and all the sofas and beds and other large items — that customers can take off the shelves and take home. The restaurant will be smaller. There are no plans for a “Children’s IKEA” with playrooms.

But this one will still feel like an IKEA, with a dozen showrooms displaying more than 5,000 items that help customers see how to put together a bedroom or kitchen, said Scott Kay, who oversees the Paramus, New Jersey store and will oversee the Syracuse one as well.

It’ll have an As-Is department that sells discontinued items and “gently used” products.

And the store will feature a central planning area where customers can design and order items for their kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms, Kay said.

The mini-store will be one of about 50 that IKEA has opened with the aim of making the iconic products more accessible to more people, Kay said.

“We are adapting these smaller format stores for the future of retail, and also because it brings it closer to everyday people,” he said.

IKEA is planning to open three other smaller stores this year, two in Texas and one in Arizona. (These are different from the order and pick-up locations, like the one near Liverpool that opened a couple of years ago.)

This IKEA will take up the entire space vacated last year by At Home, about 88,000 square feet, although the store’s shopping area will be 70,000 square feet.

That’s about four times smaller than stores in Brooklyn and Paramus, the kind that can have as many as 100 product showrooms.

In Syracuse, IKEA plans to open in the fall and hire about 45 workers, Kay said.

Here are some other key differences you’ll see in Syracuse:

Inventory

The Destiny location won’t have a big warehouse. Instead, customers can pick items from showrooms and order up to 10,000 different items.

The store will have about 3,000 accessory items available in store to purchase and about 75 small furniture pieces.

Larger items must be ordered. Those can be delivered to customers’ homes or picked up at the store.

Dining and fun

The store will serve IKEA food favorites such as meatballs, plant balls, hot dogs, veggie and plant dogs, cinnamon buns and more. It will have some seating, Kay said, but nothing like the full-sized 450-seat restaurant in Brooklyn.

While there won’t be playrooms, IKEA is planning to provide some activities and events for kids, Kay said.

Contact Elizabeth Doran at 315-470-3012 or edoran@syracuse.com