Well the flat packs need to fit in the trunk, so any old cab may not work. Also sometimes cheaper because they make a business of it.
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That bus was so convenient. They stopped a while after the Brooklyn Ikea opened, which is great for people on the east side, but a pain for everyone else 
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I remember approaching a panic attack in Herrod’s London on the first day of their annual winter sale. Wall to wall shoppers, literally. I finally nabbed a salesperson and asked for the fastest way OUT. She answered, “to which street?” “ANY, JUST FASTEST!” Clincher was that two days later I lost my new sale scarf on the street.
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We needed a linen closet type of cabinet for the second bathroom in our previous house. Couldn’t find a reasonably priced option here. Then a stylish Ikea cabinet caught my eye. Ikea hadn’t come to Massachusetts yet, but we had relatives living in NJ so on our next visit we made a field trip to Elizabeth.
Though the cabinet stayed behind when we moved, other items we bought on that visit are still going strong 18+ years later.
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I always get lost in big department stores. The one time my ex & I went to the Macy’s in NYC in the mid 90s it took us forever to get back to where we entered. I also hate the fact that all their stuff is sorted by brand, as I am not a brand person. I prefer vintage/second hand stuff.
Wait – so you made it to a sales counter?
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My friend came with me on my 2 or 3 trips on the Ikea bus, mostly because she liked the meatballs at Ikea.
She was a concierge at the Waldorf Astoria at the time, often including me when new restaurants would offer her a complimentary dinner for 2, in hopes of her steering hotel guests in their direction.
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Is there a store named for Herod now? I bet they don’t have back-to-school sales.
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Not sure if you’ve been to Japan, but their department stores make it easy for eaters.
- The basement (one or two floors) is for the supermarket, and/or food hall.
Sweets are further divided into Japanese sweets, and foreign (usually European-influenced, but with a couple of random NYC references). - Right before the roof level (if there is a roof), there might be one or two restaurant floors. Oftentimes, department stores in bigger cities would have express elevators to them.
- Then there are the limited-time food events. On one of the higher floors – perhaps on one of the same as a restaurant floor – there are event spaces. The programs might involve art, clothing, jewelry, or even fortune-telling. But occasionally there’s a food event highlighting a Japanese prefecture or region. Luckily, more and more accept foreign credit cards.
A department store where food is a feature? I can get behind that.
And no, I’ve not had the privilege to visit Japan yet, but if you ever find yourself at KaDeWe – all the good stuff is on the 6th floor 
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My second time in Shenzhen, I would go to IKEA from time to time for raw vegetables salads, and the “Swedish sampler platter.” Plus, the hazelnut chocolate bars.
Fortunately, they had a separate exitrance for the dining section.
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The department store food halls with nice foods in Munich and Zurich are often on the lower level.
Fortnum & Mason in London has its sandwich stalls , takeout food stalls and many of its groceries on the lower level, too.
I really enjoyed the department store food halls in Japan.
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Mariposa, the restauarant at some of the Neiman Marcus stores has great popovers, and a wonderful chicken consomme.
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Macy’s in HNL houses the famous Liliha bakery 
I’ve always wanted to attend one of KaDeWe’s special gourmet parties. Too $$$ for me, sadly, but they tend not to happen in the summer months.
Sour grapes made a bit sweeter 
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At our local Ikea one is supposed to walk through the entire store, noting the locations of the items one wants, and then pick up these items from the warehouse. I have found that I can find what I want online and then go to the customer service desk, which is right next to the warehouse, and get the location of what I am looking for. In and out in 10 minutes.
Holt Renfrew’s Flagships in Toronto and Montreal have nice full service cafés, and a gourmet section carrying some Canadian products and imports from Fortnum & Mason and Italy. The Bloor store unfortunately no longer has a casual café with counter service on the concourse level . The cosmetics and fragrance area takes up the entire lower concourse and close to a third of the main floor.
@mods maybe we can split these tangents into a Department Store Food Hall and Restaurants thread?
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I will never forget my first visit to KaDeWe, in 1983…I was in Berlin for a week before going on to Warsaw, and I made two return visits for a total of 3 in that week. It was stunning even way back then.
The contrast between what was available at KaDeWe and what limited food was available that I found in the about 6 hours I spent in East Berlin was…well, devastating.
Unfortunately, I’ve never made it back. Also the food floor was the only floor I visited.
I also very much enjoyed the food/grocery section at Corte Ingles in Madrid, where I lived from 1982 - 1984. From what I read here on Hungry Onion, it’s gotten much more impressive. It was nothing like KaDeWe, though.
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Kind of.
Fondest memory was the Christmas we spent in London. I had planned Christmas dinner at a famous hotel, but balked at the price. Husband and I went to Herrod’s Food Hall and were like two kids in a candy store. A quarter ham, sides, cheeses, wine. I balked again at the price of a “Christmas Cake”, knowing it to be the kind of thing that we would probably appreciate intellectually more than in the eating, so went to a French bakery and bought a dozen small pastries. Son flew over to join us on Christmas Day. Fabulous celebratory meal in our efficiency apartment, with pennies left over from what we’d have paid for three dinners at the hotel.
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It’s even fancier now. Hugely popular with rich tourists and wealthy residents alike. When we go it’s mostly for window shopping, or the very occasional special treat. It’s mind-boggling (and borderline disgusting to me) what kind of money is spent at the place on a daily basis.
I really enjoyed the market in Barcelona. Not exactly low-brow, but more down to earth.
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