The Origins Of IKEA's Food Court Date Back To The 1950s

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The Origins Of IKEA's Food Court Date Back To The 1950s By Willow Roberts Nov. 1, 2025 12:09 pm EST

IKEA Museum

Modern IKEA is known worldwide for its affordable Swedish meatballs and European snacks, but what you probably don't know is that the retail giant has been mixing food and furniture ever since its original grand opening in 1953. The IKEA Museum website tells the story of its founder, Ingvar Kamprad, and his plan to serve "coffee and a biscuit" (cookie) to every visitor on the opening day of his first furniture showroom. While they only prepared around 200 servings to start with, almost 1,000 biscuits had been eaten by the end of the day, and it was much appreciated by the hungry visitors who had travelled so far to see the showroom.

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