The scent of freshly baked sweet buns wafts through Rakastan café in Helsinki. Trams rumble along Mannerheimintie, but the atmosphere is peaceful inside the 175-year-old bakery.
“It still feels surreal that we have our own café. And in such a historic location right in the city centre to boot,” Maria Nuutinen says.
The café, opened in early April in the Villa Hakasalmi courtyard, is a family business owned by Maria and her daughters Elli and Sofia Uuksulainen. The project was started three years ago, when Maria went on job alternation leave from her permanent job as the executive director of a subtance abuse unit.
“At first, Sofia and I planned on starting an event and party organising business. When mum went on job alternation leave, the pieces started to fit together and the idea for the café was born,” Elli Uuksulainen says.
Last autumn, the trio started looking for available premises in Helsinki. The business operations of a café right next to Villa Hakasalmi happened to be for sale. The location was perfect, and the premises being rented out by the City were already equipped with a kitchen.
“The previous owners wanted to make a change in their life and sell the café. We jumped at the chance,” Maria says.
Detailed profitability calculations
Maria, Elli and Sofia received help with starting their business, asset acquisition and profitability calculations from Business Helsinki Business Advisory Services. Together with the business advisor, they estimated the value of the café, including all appliances. The previous company already had permits for café operations.
“Even though we did some calculations ourselves and tried to take all manner of things into consideration, we needed insight from a professional. The business advisor kept cheering us on even when we almost wanted to give up.”
A business broker managed the paperwork for the asset transaction. The bank granted a loan to the new entrepreneurs and Finnvera acted as a guarantor for the loan.
The entrepreneurs have learned a lot during the early stages of the business. Maria, Elli and Sofia have tried to achieve a balance between the café’s assortment, marketing and the effort they put in.
“We have learned that the café takes up a lot of time. Weekends are the busiest and we cannot have time off then. But we may be able to hire more employees in the future.”
The café is serving soup for lunch, organic wine and the specialty of the café, Karelian pies, to attract patrons of the previous café along with new customers. The pies are made with their Karelian grandmother Meri’s recipe. All products are vegan.
“We decided to specialise in traditional Finnish treats and combine them with responsibility. Grandma used to favour vegetarian food, recycle and avoid waste,” Maria says.
According to the entrepreneurs, the name of the café, Rakastan (I love), summarises the meaning of life.
“Everyone is welcome in our café. We want everyone to feel accepted and loved when they come here.”
Permits in order in good time
Elie El-Khouri, who has worked as a business advisor for Business Helsinki for sixteen years, knows the ins and outs of regulations governing the restaurant business. When the plans include an asset acquisition, the groundwork must be carried out carefully.
“You should ask the seller for profitability calculations for the company and detemine why they want to sell their business. Is it because there are not enough customers, or are they about to retire, for example?” El-Khouri says.
The business location must also be considered in the profitability assessment. Customers that drive value the parking spaces in shopping centres, but commercial premises in the city centre may also be a functional choice, if they have good transport connections and are located on a busy street.
It is often a good idea to find a location where a business in the same field has operated previously. In the café and restaurant branch, this means that the premises already have a functional kitchen equipped with appliances.
“If the property is a rental space, you should ask the landlord well in advance what the rent for the new business will be. Landlords often want to increase the rent when their tenants change.”
Companies in the restaurant business must ensure that they have things such as a licence to sell alcohol and food establishment approval, as well as hygiene passports. Before starting operations, the health authorities will inspect the premises to ensure that they are suitable for use as a restaurant or café. The premises must also comply with fire safety regulations.
But you should not be put off by the number of necessary permits. Business Helsinki Business Advisory Services provide help at each stage.
“Often times, the seller and buyer of the business operation may come to the advisory service together to review any financing options and determine a price that would make both parties happy. You should have this discussion even when it comes to a change of generation in a family business,” Elie El-Khouri points out.
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