Candy Lara slept outside the Pharr Town Center with her friends since just past midnight on Tuesday, so she could be one of the first shoppers inside the new IKEA when it opened to the public on Wednesday. 

Lara recently moved to the region for a job with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and was in search of a new bed duvet cover, bedding, curtains, rugs, and even Christmas decor. 

About six months ago, she shopped at the IKEA in Detroit, Michigan, so she’s familiar with the large-scale warehouse layout. So when she heard about the new Pharr store, Lara said she was “over the moon” – even if the physical store footprint is much smaller. 

For her, the selling point is the wide variety of colors to match the interior design of her home.