Devotees, the curious flock to Ikea's opening

With whoops and cheers, Ikea employees banged blue and yellow thunder sticks to greet the first customers -- some who camped unshowered for days -- at their new Stoughton store.

Minutes after the doors swung open yesterday, bewildered children and frenzied adults began stuffing home furnishing goods into shopping carts and big, yellow bags.

There, at the end of a car-clogged road in Stoughton, Ikea basked in its grand opening, drawing an estimated 20,000 customers from Atlanta to Rhode Island to the Swedish retailer's first store in Massachusetts. The fanfare jammed local roads at times and backed up cars for more than a mile on Route 24.

Ed Baccei, 58, took yesterday off from work (at his wife's request) to spend the day at Ikea, driving 45 miles from Rhode Island to buy items for his grandchildren, such as the green stuffed fire-breathing dragon for $9.99.

''It's a fascinating combination and variety," Baccei said. ''They have everything."

Ikea spent more than a decade battling towns and neighbors to let it open a store in Massachusetts. The 350,000-square-foot Stoughton is its second in New England -- after New Haven -- and Ikea, one of the world's largest sellers of home furnishings, is planning to open another store in Somerville after it resolves a legal dispute with neighbors.

''It's an incredible feeling to finally be here," said Pernille Lopez, president of Ikea North America, at a log-sawing ceremony (a Swedish good luck tradition) outside the Stoughton Ikea store. ''It's always been a dream to be here . . . and it's great to finally achieve it."

Ikea customers were just as excited.

Vida Jakabhazy and Soren Ryherd of Providence showed up yesterday morning, armed with a plan. They had memorized Ikea's floor plan online the night before.

The couple quickly snatched up the items they deemed most likely to sell out -- cheap shelves and desks -- and headed to the check out line 10 minutes after the store opened. Then, they planned to circle back for another round of leisurely shopping that would likely total $1,000.

By 11:15 a.m., Ikea had its first casualty. A $6.99 glass vase holding Lucky Bamboo sticks fell to the floor, shattering into tiny pieces across the brand new store. A crew of five quickly descended and swept the shards into a neat pile. Aside from the accidental shopping cart swipes and occasional body checks from hustling customers, the opening was a fairly orderly affair.

Area businesses hope Ikea's reputation as a destination retailer will bring new customers to their shops. Some, including Ikea's next-door neighbors Jordan's Furniture and Costco, agreed to let Ikea use some of their adjacent parking lots for the grand opening, according to local police.

Jordan's Furniture, which pre-empted the Ikea opening with its own Colossal Clearance Center two days ago, lined the curb on Stockwell Drive with signs alternating between ''Jordan's Welcomes Ikea" and promotions for its new discount center.

Larry Noller, owner of Affordable Furniture, half a block up on Stockwell Drive, said people parked their cars in his lot yesterday and walked down to Ikea. But a good number stopped in his store on the way back, so he didn't mind too much.

For some, the Ikea opening was more than just a shopping experience. Stephen Hutchins, of Scituate, R.I., turned the day into a teaching lesson on marketing for his 14-year-old, home-schooled daughter.

And, oh yes, there was the free chair he coveted. The first 100 people to enter the store were given a chair.

The two began camping out on Tuesday afternoon and, after missing out on the chair promotion during Ikea's New Haven opening in July 2004, Hutchins brought home the prized Poang chair, a $99 value.

At the Ikea cafeteria, where hundreds pounced on the 99-cent breakfast and famed Swedish meatballs, 28-year-old Catherine Sullivan finished off her tomato, mozzarella, and basil sandwich.

''We've been here a long time," said Sullivan, who pitched a tent last night in Ikea's parking lot, also lured by the free chair offer. ''I want to take a shower."

Jenn Abelson can be reached at abelson@globe.com. Globe correspondent Megan McKee contributed to this report.