Helsinki City Premises Ltd is currently surveying the possibility of using Hietalahti Market Square in the summer of 2022 as a joint terrace for restaurant operators and a window into food culture in Helsinki. However, the objective is that next summer’s market square terrace will be more entrepreneur-driven, compared to the previous Senate Square and Kasarmitori Square terrace trials, and the terrace project is now seeking an operator.
“We are seeking an operator for the terrace project in the form of a restaurant or event organisation business that would be in charge of producing the Hietalahti Market Square joint terrace in cooperation with Helsinki City Premises. The operator would assume responsibility for the business activities, area planning and production of the joint terrace. The role of City Premises would be to guide the service provider in accordance with the terms of one licence agreement,” says CEO Peggy Bauer from Helsinki City Premises Ltd.
The operation of the joint terrace would be based on a concept similar to that of the summer terraces produced by Helsinki City Premises on Senate Square and Kasarmitori Square in 2020 and 2021. The terrace trials have generated positive feedback from Helsinki residents and travellers alike, and their significance to the restaurants involved and the vitality of the entire city centre has been considerable.
“After all, the Senate Square and Kasarmitori Square summer terraces were exceptional during the coronavirus pandemic, which is why the City played a strong role in their management. Now that the pandemic is beginning to calm down, it seems natural to pass the ball to entrepreneurs. We want market squares and plazas to also have life after the pandemic, and the concept itself is loved by residents!” Bauer remarks.
Alluring Hietalahti
The location of the joint terrace for the coming summer has not yet been decided, but it is known that the previous years’ locations are out of the question: Senate Square has already been reserved for other events, while the Kasarmitori Square area is undergoing renovation projects that would get in the way of terrace activities. As such, Hietalahti Market Square currently stands out as the most alluring option.
“The Hietalahti Market Hall features an absolutely fantastic concentration of restaurants, and it would be great to expand the selection of the hall together with other interesting Helsinki-based restaurant operators,” Bauer says.
The popularity of flea market activities on Hietalahti Market Square was already dwindling before the pandemic. The growing popularity of online flea markets and various free flea market events have diminished the attractiveness of conventional flea markets on the site. Whether the flea market activities could, somehow, be combined with the summer terrace activities or an entirely new location could be assigned for them is yet to be ascertained.
The terrace activities would take place from June to August. More detailed schedules will be established later, as will the number of restaurants to be selected to take part.
Operator search
If your business is interested in acting as the operator of the Hietalahti Market Square joint terrace, please contact us by 27 March 2022 by e-mail at tapahtumat@kaupunkitilat.fi(Link opens default mail program).
Helsinki City Premises Ltd invites potential offerers to take part in discussions regarding the framework of the joint terrace and the licence agreement, cooperation and the operator’s proposal for implementing the project by the end of March 2022.
Pictured:
terrace atmosphere on Kasarmitori Square in the summer of 2021. The plan is to
have next summer’s joint terrace on Hietalahti Market Square. Photo: Camilla Bloom