- Motel Käpylä's new winds
Located in the center of Keminmaa, the legendary Motel Käpylä was taken over by a new entrepreneur in July 2017. The motel, built in 1968, had until then been under the control of the Remes family.
"This place simply overwhelmed me. When I walked in and saw all the vintage and designer furniture and decorative elements, it was game over for me, so to speak. I've always had a great appreciation for local history and old objects, and Motel Catcher in the Rye seemed to be bursting with both. I saw huge potential for this kind of storied meeting place for locals and tourists alike", says the new Käpälä entrepreneur Teija-Liisa Paananen tells.
Over the years, the motels walls have housed an entertainment restaurant with 200 seats on two different floors, a prestigious food and catering restaurant, a gas station and a bar called the Union Bar, and of course a motel with 27 rooms.
"Käpylä used to be a kind of entertainment center in the entire Sea Lapland region. All of Finland's top artists have performed here and the restaurant has been packed four times a week. During the baby boomer couple formation phase in the 70s, there has been a great demand for such a thing in the region," Paananen reflects.
Not only is Motel Käpylä well-known in the area for its popular evening program, but also the house's kitchen has earned a reputation for its high-quality servings.
"My staff and I had big shoes to fill in this place, for example in terms of the quality of the food. From the very beginning, when planning the menus, we have emphasized quality rather than quantity, and local ingredients as much as possible. When designing the dishes, we also want to respect the era and history of the house. We have managed to bring familiar dishes from the 80s and 70s, but with our own twist," says Paananen.
- Something new something old
The planning of the new Käpylä was started in July 2016 by the cooperation of Paananen and Käpylä's former, now deceased, entrepreneur Sirkka-Liisa Laine. Respecting the history of the place, Paananen wanted to return Käpylä's motel operations to the return of guests and useful local services.
"Sirkka had a good idea to re-use the room that used to be a cabinet space in connection with the main restaurant, but this time in the style of a bensis bar. The space now houses Union's bar, which has been decorated as far as possible with the original Bar Union service furniture found in Käpylä's warehouses. Unska's bar, as it is called by the people of Keminmaa, has become one of the most popular spaces in the renewed Käpylä," says Paananen.
Union's bar serves bistro food made from quality ingredients every day. The menu includes, among other things, hot dogs made from handmade sausages from Meän Liha from Tervola and high-quality buns from the bakery Pulla Jussi from Kemi. In the summer, Union's bar offers ice creams made from Arctic Ice Cream Factory's farm milk from Lapland.
"I thought for a long time about a fast food concept for Union's bar that fits my principles. I want to offer our customers something new and relaxed, but food for the whole family made from the highest quality ingredients", envisions Paananen.
During the first year and a half, the renovated Motel Käpylä has been able to serve more than a thousand Christmas revelers, hundreds of retro disco fans and guests from all over the world. Paananen looks forward to the coming years of Motel Käpylä with hope.
"It's been great to notice that my vision for this place didn't go completely off the rails. There is a demand for such a distinctive, even partly historical, time travel place both now and in the future. The thematic nature and experiential nature are of interest to today's traveler, whether the purpose of the trip is pleasure or work."