CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The new Charlotte IKEA location is set to open in six weeks on Feb. 18.

NewsChannel 36 took a tour of the 356,000-square-foot facility on Wednesday.

The Swedish furniture giant is employing 400 people at the Charlotte location. Many of those employees are already hard at work, assembling furniture.

New to Charlotte, Aimee Bennett is a mother of three now working there part-time.

"One nice thing about IKEA is they also provide school. They reimburse for school," said Bennett, who plans to get her master's degree.

PHOTOS: Inside the new IKEA

At IKEA, employees who work at least 20 hours a week are eligible for the benefits of full-time employees.

"Right now we're trying to put all the merchandise out,"' Bennett said.

From kitchen utensils to actual kitchens, IKEA keeps the layout of every store the same.

Even before the doors officially open, IKEA spokesman Joseph Roth said he expects a crowd.

"This will be my 25th IKEA store grand opening and no matter where we are in the country, from Atlanta to Detroit to Portland, Oregon, customers will come and camp out," Roth said.

He said starting Monday, Feb. 16, customers can start lining up outside.

The blue-and-yellow store on City Boulevard in University City, next to Interstate 85, will be the first IKEA in the Carolinas and the 36th nationwide.

It will include 10,000 affordably priced, exclusively designed home goods, 49 room settings, three model home interiors and a supervised children's play area, as well as a 350-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties.