A trip to IKEA usually means navigating a maze of showrooms, locating a remote warehouse corner lined with flatpack furniture to the sky, then grabbing some meatballs for good measure. But times are changing, and IKEAs are getting smaller. At least, some of them are.
A brand new compact IKEA store has been announced for Chester’s Greyhound Retail Park. These smaller shops are designed to offer more convenience to those living in suburbs or towns who might otherwise have to travel to get to a full-size branch near a big city. The Chester branch will be the third of its kind in the UK, the most recent having opened in Norwich last month (August 2025).
The Chester location will begin trading on October 9, joining Harlow in Essex and Norwich. You’ll be able to plan projects with a curated range of rooms set up, purchase thousands of items available to take home there and then, and, of course, eat delicious meatballs. The food will be ready to eat in store or to take away.
A spokesperson for the Chester IKEA highlighted the increased accessibility this type of store offers whilst assuring that ‘customers can still expect the Ikea experience they know and love including home furnishing inspiration, our signature food, and expert planning services… We can’t wait to open our new home in Chester’.
This isn’t the only experiment the Swedish brand has tried recently. It’s also been testing inner-city stores in Brighton and on London’s Oxford Street, which once again offer everything you’d expect from IKEA, but this time accessible on foot. Don’t worry though – they offer home delivery services so you won’t be lugging a wardrobe home on the tube.
This is all part of a wider plan to bring Nordic furniture to more people than ever. Earlier this year head of IKEA UK and Ireland Peter Jelkeby explained that the brand is ‘strategically expanding [its] UK footprint, with the aim of showing up in convenient, accessible locations for our customers.
‘We’re looking forward to bringing the very best of the IKEA experience in a refreshingly compact format.’
ICYMI: The Scottish castle that is one of the best places in the world to propose
Plus: This historic English city is introducing a £5 congestion charge
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out UK newsletter for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country.