Service station enjoys popularity after Finland's Best Lunch win

The annual Finland's Best Lunch competition's victory in 2024 has brought significant benefits to Neste Matin ja Liisan Asema in Lapinlahti, especially in the form of increased customer numbers. The word about Finland's best lunch restaurant quickly spread to non-locals and throughout Finland, with visibility growing through numerous media mentions in Ilta-Sanomat, Iltalehti, Kotiliesi, and Helsingin Sanomat. Prior to the lunch competition, the restaurant located at the service station sold just over 300 lunch portions per day, but following the victory, the number of lunch customers has increased to 400-500 diners per day.

This has been particularly noteworthy, considering that the victory was achieved at the end of September, which is typically a quieter period. Although the number of diners has slightly leveled off after the September victory, it has still helped Neste Matin ja Liisan Asema to maintain lunch volumes similar to the summer season as the quieter period approaches.

Fireworks and victory coffees

After the victory, it was clear that Neste Matin ja Liisan Asema would celebrate their remarkable achievement with a communal gathering serving coffee and cake. Celebrating is not entirely new to the winning restaurant: it is typical for them to celebrate the arrival of Christmas annually in collaboration with the local 4H association with a Christmas porridge and sales event.

Celebrating the victory is an important recognition not only for the staff of Neste Matin ja Liisan Asema, but also a thank you to the customers and the entire village. The victory came largely as a result of teamwork, emphasizing the love for the Lapinlahti restaurant within the entire local community.

We receive daily a lot of thanks and congratulations for our victory, which feels incredibly great. We strongly believe that this victory serves as a fantastic boost for the future and encourages us to further develop our services, describes Jouni Majala, the owner of Neste Matin ja Liisan Asema.

The victory was celebrated with soup and cake coffee on the last day of October, together with the customers and the patron of the Best Lunch in Finland competition, chef Harri Syrjänen. The entire local community participated in celebrating the victory and enjoying the restaurant's delicacies – and during the event, an impressive 900 servings of soup and cake slices were served. The celebration culminated in a magnificent fireworks display.

Read more:

The villager's beloved lunch spot to the awareness of whole Finland

For the article, the owner of Neste Matin and Liisan Asema, Jouni Majala, was interviewed on 30.10.2024.