Daily Loaf

Creative Loafing interns Hannah Walk and Diana Ruiz visited the line outside IKEA Tampa 48 hours before its May 6 opening. Here’s their report — with video after the jump.

How long would you wait in line for a free chair? How about a chair from IKEA? If you’re the first people in line for IKEA’s grand opening, the 65-plus hours spent sleeping on cement and passing the time playing Apples to Apples are well worth it. IKEA officially opens Wednesday, May 6, but for these dedicated fans, the party started early.

Hagen Reams, 19, Shelby Gallo, 19, Justin Gallo, 21, and Ben Dziubek, 20, began their three-day escapade Sunday afternoon, but they’re not complaining. They’ve been passing the time reading Tucker Max’s I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, feasting on vending machine goodies, and attempting to sleep when news cameras aren’t in their faces.

They tout their expertise in line-waiting, as well as the fact that they’re not lazy freeloaders, despite the barrage of negative comments on their Facebook pages. They’re all college students with jobs and plans for the future, not to mention a mutual love for Swedish furniture.

The excitement spans the ages. Kevin Fritesch and Glenn Rosener are certainly not college students, but they’re just as excited as the 19-year-olds. Lounging in a beach chair and dressed in a Hawaiian shirt, Fritesch commented on his previous IKEA experiences (at a branch in New Jersey) and said he was enthused to have one closer to home.

We got a chance to go inside and preview the store. We’re not sure it’s worth a three-day wait, but it’s worth a spot on your To-Do list. In case you don’t know, IKEA is far more than just furniture. The massive blue box houses an upscale kiddie corral (potty-trained only, please), countless pieces of sexy Swedish furniture (don’t you feel cultured?), a cafeteria, a bistro and a haven for those in search of the perfect Swedish meatball.

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