Restaurant Brewe in Huittinen has made a name for itself, recently being voted one of Finland's best lunch spots, landing 24th place in the nationwide vote. The recognition comes as the restaurant has been undergoing a significant rebranding effort.

Brewe's owner, Susanna Lehtinen, reacted humbly to the news: "Looks like someone here knows how to cook," she said with a smile after learning that the restaurant made it into the top 25 in the Suomen Paras Lounaspaikka (Finland's Best Lunch Spot) vote.

The voting, organized by Edenred, drew more than 100,000 votes, with a total of 5,784 restaurants from all over Finland receiving nominations. Brewe ranked 24th, a significant achievement in the competitive field.

Lehtinen attributes the result to the efforts of an enthusiastic employee who actively promoted the voting process to customers. According to the contest organizers, engaging loyal customers and encouraging them to vote is a key factor for success: "The foundation is always the restaurant’s loyal customer base and activating them to vote during lunch," reads advice from the contest organizers.

Brewe has a solid base of regulars, who helped the restaurant achieve this recognition. Lehtinen notes that they serve 100–200 customers daily for lunch, which speaks to the restaurant's popularity and local support.

Brewe has undergone significant changes since Lehtinen took over as the entrepreneur. One of the main goals has been to shift the restaurant’s image from a pub-centric atmosphere to a more approachable dining spot.

"We’ve made the place easier to approach. We dropped 'pub' from the name and took the beer mugs out of the windows. We’re still a pub, but not just a pub anymore," Lehtinen explains.

Despite these changes, she admits that in local conversation, the "pub" element of Brewe’s identity isn’t likely to disappear anytime soon.

As reported earlier by Lauttakylä-lehti, Brewe is also planning to expand its space. Lehtinen reveals that plans for expansion have been in the works for quite some time. The restaurant has now purchased the old bus station’s waiting hall, which had been vacant for about a year.

The additional 170 square meters will be turned into a flexible space for meetings and dining. However, Lehtinen jokes that she hasn’t been brave enough to paint any walls just yet: “We’ll get started once we navigate through the maze of regulations.”

ALKUPERÄINEN JUTTU "Kai täällä ruokaakin osaa joku tehdä" – Brewe äänestettiin Suomen parhaiden lounaspaikkojen joukkoon

• local news

Kommentoi