“We just want to celebrate with our customers as well as our co-workers,” Mason said.
The event will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.
Mason, along with several other IKEA West Chester employees, have been with the branch all 15 years of its operation. Mason said she has seen the marked impact the branch has had on West Chester’s business development over the years.
“When IKEA came, it put West Chester on the map not only nationally, but internationally,” Mason said. “Just having that international recognition, a lot of companies definitely found that West Chester was a desirable place to put their headquarters or their business in because of our brand being so respected globally, and just the attraction of people coming regionally [to visit].”
In 2008, IKEA West Chester was the first location in the region outside of Pittsburgh, which drew visitors not only from Ohio cities such as Columbus, Dayton or Cincinnati, but also from bordering states Kentucky and Indiana. It opened on 28 acres of a 56-acre parcel along Interstate 75 at the southeastern corner of Allen and Muhlhauser roads.
New locations debuted 114 miles away in Columbus in June 2017 and 122 miles away near Indianapolis in October 2017.
Mason said that regional draw has had positive affects on surrounding businesses, too, because, “When people come, they make a day in Butler County.”
“We’ve seen great growth in terms of new businesses around the area,” Mason said, particularly noting the expansion of businesses along West Chester’s Interstate 75 highway exits and the spillover growth into neighboring Liberty Twp., too.
In October 2022, the IKEA store in West Chester Twp. announced it was reintroducing breakfast in its Swedish Restaurant and Bistro. Breakfast is served beginning at 9:30 a.m. and the store opens at 10 a.m.
In 2020, the home furnishings giant announced it was stopping publication of its annual catalog after 70 years, citing the increased shift to online browsing and shopping.
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