Happy 5th Anniversary, Canton IKEA

Shoppers are saying “Lycklig årsdag” (Swedish for "happy anniversary") to the Canton this weekend.

The iconic Swedish furniture and food store first opened in Canton at 41640 Ford Road,  five years ago on June 25, 2006. Many people lined up outside the door that day; some even spent the night to be among the first to step inside this multi-level paradise of teak and meatballs.

Today is the second of a three-day celebration, which includes gift envelope giveaways to the first 500 visitors in the store for anything from food to a gift card to IKEA merchandise. The first 500 purchases Sunday will also include an IKEA reusable blue bag. (On Saturday only, the store will raffle off $25 gift cards on an hourly basis.) Anyone who brings in a receipt from 2006 will get a free meatball dinner.

It is IKEA's meatballs and low-cost kids' meals that brought Jason Walker from his Ann Arbor home to the Canton store. Walker, who is moving to Brighton, bought a couch on Friday but said its the food that brings him back “every few months.”

Margaret Slovenec moved to Canton three years ago from Ohio after her husband's employer, Ford, transferred him here. She says they now get a lot of out-of-town visitors who travel to Canton just to shop at IKEA. Slovenec and her 24-year-old daughter, Lauren, heard about this weekend's celebration while shopping at IKEA last weekend. They returned Friday and had already loaded a new table into the car before going back in to the store for pizza and ice cream cones.

The strongest aroma that greets IKEA visitors, however comes from the retail giant's famous cinnamon rolls which are sold hot from the oven as well as boxed up near the checkout lanes (and often still warm). The store's food counter sits between the entrance and exit doors, part of the Swedish food market, where, in addition to the cinnamon rolls, shoppers can buy 50-cent hot dogs.

Laurie Caza travels from Adrian to the Canton store every three to four months she said, because “it's an adventure and I can make a day out of it.” She's been going there since the store first opened and cited “salmon and cinnamon rolls” as reasons for her regular visits.

Whether it's a want or a need, IKEA sells everything from brightly colored bath mats for $3.99 to a red polka-dotted love seat named the “Klippan” for $229.

IKEA offers a supervised play area for children so their parents can shop in peace. A second-floor sit-down restaurant features many Swedish-inspired dishes and deals on meals. As part of the five-year anniversary celebration, Sunday diners can donate five cents for a free small breakfast with the proceeds going to a local charity. The restaurant at IKEA is open Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. IKEA's retail center opens at 10 a.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday.