Euromaster coming to Kempele as Sotto opens second pizzeria in Turku

Two expansion announcements emerged from Finland’s franchising community on 19 October: Rinta-Joupin Autoliike is bringing Euromaster tyre services to its Kempele dealership, while Sotto, which operates partly through franchising, is opening a new pizzeria in Turku. The announcements illustrate two different ways to expand a chain’s presence: adding services to an existing car dealership and growing a restaurant network with a new location.

Euromaster to open at Rinta-Jouppi’s Kempele dealership

On 19 October 2026, Rinta-Joupin Autoliike announced that it had signed a franchise agreement with Euromaster. Under the agreement, a Euromaster service centre will open at the company’s Kempele car dealership. This marks the first step in a partnership between the two businesses.

The new centre aims to bring car dealership and tyre services under one roof. According to Rinta-Jouppi, Euromaster’s tyre range and services will be available to all motorists in the area. The announcement therefore does not limit the services to customers buying cars from the dealership, but identifies local motorists more broadly as the target customer base.

In Kempele, franchising is being added to an existing business. A Euromaster-branded service centre will operate alongside Rinta-Jouppi’s dealership, complementing the services available at the same location. The key development is therefore not simply a new branded outlet, but an agreement between two named companies and the resulting expansion of local services.

Rinta-Jouppi says the partnership aims to provide a more comprehensive range of services and a more convenient customer experience. These are the company’s stated objectives: no information is yet available on the opening’s impact on customer numbers or business performance. The tangible change for customers will be the addition of tyre services at the dealership.

According to the announcement, Euromaster has more than 80 service centres across Finland. The new Kempele centre will therefore join a nationwide network. However, the announcement does not give a breakdown of company-owned and franchised centres, so the total should not be interpreted as the number of franchisees.

Sotto’s ninth restaurant opens on 22 October

Sotto Pizzeria also announced on 19 October that it would open its ninth restaurant at Länsi 1 in Turku. The pizzeria, at Viilarinkatu 5, will open on 22 October 2026 at 17:00. It will be the chain’s second restaurant in Turku.

Turku is where Sotto’s current concept began. The first restaurant using the current format opened in the Kupittaa district in 2023. Restaurants have since opened in Vantaa, Helsinki, Tampere, Porvoo and Lahti. The chain is now expanding its presence once again in the city where its current concept originated.

Länsi 1 is Sotto’s third opening of 2026, following restaurants in Porvoo and Lahti. The new Turku location continues the expansion seen during the year, rather than marking the chain’s first entry into the Turku market.

The chain said it employed 47 people at the time of the announcement. The Länsi 1 restaurant is expected to create a further four to five jobs. These figures describe different things: the first refers to the chain’s existing workforce, while the second covers jobs created by the new restaurant.

The announced opening hours are 10:00–20:00 Monday to Thursday, 10:00–22:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, and 10:00–20:00 on Sundays. The opening-day start time has been separately specified as 17:00. Customers should therefore distinguish between the launch schedule and the restaurant’s regular opening hours.

Franchise responsibilities differ between models

Sotto’s announcement is relevant to the franchising community not only because of the network’s growth, but also because of the division of responsibilities it describes. Some of the chain’s restaurants operate as franchises. The chain handles the premises’ fit-out, permits and marketing, while the franchisee is responsible for the restaurant’s day-to-day operations.

This provides a practical outline of how responsibilities are allocated between the chain and the franchisee in Sotto’s model. Fit-out work, obtaining permits and marketing fall to the chain; managing the restaurant’s daily operations falls to the franchisee. However, the announcement does not specify whether the new Länsi 1 restaurant itself will be run by a franchisee. It is therefore more accurate to describe it as a new opening by a chain that is expanding partly through franchising.

Sotto says it is continually seeking new city-centre locations in major cities, as well as entrepreneurs to join the chain. The announcement thus includes a call for prospective franchisees, rather than simply publicising one restaurant opening. The stated division of responsibilities gives interested applicants an initial indication of the day-to-day role involved.

In the case of Rinta-Jouppi and Euromaster, a franchise agreement specifically covering the Kempele centre has been confirmed. However, the detailed division of responsibilities and the contract terms have not been disclosed. These two expansion announcements should therefore not be treated as examples of identical franchise models: the information released focuses on different aspects.

Two local openings, two different approaches to growth

In Kempele, growth centres on extending a car dealership’s range of services. In Turku, Sotto is increasing its restaurant count and strengthening its presence in the home city of its current concept. In both announcements, the expansion of a chain operating in multiple locations across Finland takes the form of a single new local outlet.

There is an important difference in timing. Sotto has announced an exact opening date and time, whereas Rinta-Jouppi’s announcement confirms an agreement and a forthcoming service centre. No opening date is given for the Kempele centre. A contract announcement and an opening already scheduled for customers therefore represent different stages of expansion.

Practical point: Anyone considering joining a chain should establish both the operating model for their proposed outlet and the precise division of responsibilities. A chain’s expansion announcement indicates its direction, but the franchisee’s duties are determined by the agreement covering the individual location.