Rolls expands to Ruka at Cafe & Pinseria

Finnish burger chain Rolls is expanding to Ruka with Kuusamo-based entrepreneurs Mika Määttä and Sami Palosaari. The chain’s products will join the menu at Cafe & Pinseria in Ruka village. This will be the pair’s second Rolls outlet: their first opened in the summer at the Prisma hypermarket in Kuusamo. Franchise News reported the expansion on 5 November 2026.

Experience in Kuusamo leads to a wider partnership

Määttä and Palosaari run Ravintola Talonpöytä and also operate Cafe & Pinseria in Ruka. Their partnership with Finnish chain Rolls began with the outlet at Prisma in Kuusamo. It now extends to Ruka village, within the same municipality, where the chain’s burgers will become part of an existing restaurant’s menu.

According to the entrepreneurs, the Rolls partnership launched at Prisma in Kuusamo has been well received. They say their positive experience, alongside the shared values of two Finnish family businesses, encouraged them to expand the partnership. The decision therefore draws on their own experience of the first outlet, rather than simply a plan to open another restaurant location.

The Ruka expansion extends the partnership within the same year it began. The key development is that existing operators are taking the concept into a second location. Rolls gains a new outlet for its products, while Määttä and Palosaari bring a chain concept they already use into another restaurant they run.

The positive reception is the entrepreneurs’ assessment of the partnership’s early stages. It should not be confused with evidence of the outlet’s profitability or sales performance. The expansion decision does, however, show that they want to continue the partnership and introduce it at Cafe & Pinseria in Ruka.

Burgers complement the café’s existing menu

Cafe & Pinseria serves pinsa romana, speciality coffees and baked goods made by its own pastry chef. Its menu will now also feature Rolls burgers and other products from the chain. The expansion is therefore taking place within an existing restaurant, rather than introducing an entirely new café concept to Ruka.

This distinguishes the opening from simply establishing a new chain restaurant. Cafe & Pinseria already has its own food, coffee and baked goods offering. Rolls will sit alongside it as an addition. For customers, the main change is a new product category on the same restaurant’s menu, complementing its familiar café and pinsa selection.

The arrangement brings together a restaurant run by local entrepreneurs and products from a Finnish burger chain. Cafe & Pinseria’s existing menu is central to the expansion: Rolls is explicitly being introduced as a way to broaden the selection. The two offerings will therefore be available at the same venue.

For Finland’s franchising community, this provides a concrete example of growth within an existing business. In this case, the opportunity lies in the entrepreneurs’ second restaurant. The next stage of the partnership builds on both their previous experience with Rolls and Cafe & Pinseria’s established operations.

Aiming to create a year-round meeting place

The entrepreneurs aim to make Cafe & Pinseria a more versatile meeting place, serving local residents, second-home owners and tourists throughout the year. Bringing in Rolls is part of that ambition: the burger chain’s products will broaden the restaurant’s food selection alongside its other products.

The range of customer groups is important to this goal. The entrepreneurs do not describe the restaurant as serving tourists alone; they also include permanent residents and people who spend their leisure time in the area. Year-round service is a stated development goal, not a claim that customer numbers are consistent across all seasons.

In this announcement, creating a more versatile meeting place primarily means broadening the menu. Combining café products, pinsas and burgers is the practical step being taken towards that goal. The effect on customer visits or spending cannot yet be inferred from the expanded selection alone.

The focus at Ruka is therefore on the restaurant as a whole, not just the chain’s new sales outlet. The entrepreneurs’ stated ambition concerns the development of Cafe & Pinseria, with Rolls adding a new element through the partnership.

Growth builds on an established partnership

The Ruka expansion brings together three practical foundations: the first Rolls outlet opened in the summer, the entrepreneurs’ positive experience of the partnership, and another restaurant they already operate. These make it a local growth story of interest to the franchising community. Here, expansion does not mean entering a new town with a new operator, but deepening an existing partnership within Kuusamo.

Shared values are among the reasons cited by the entrepreneurs. Alongside them, practical experience is central to the decision: after the first outlet, the partnership is continuing in a different setting. However, the Prisma outlet in Kuusamo and Cafe & Pinseria in Ruka should not automatically be treated as equivalent, since at the latter Rolls will complement the café and pinseria’s own menu.

For an entrepreneur considering expansion, a key question is how the new concept relates to the existing business. What will it add to the menu, which customers should the combined offering serve, and how will it fit the restaurant’s character? In the Ruka announcement, the answers centre on burgers, three identified customer groups and the ambition to create a year-round meeting place.

Practical takeaway: when planning a second outlet, assess both your experience at the first location and the new venue’s existing menu and customers. In Ruka, the Rolls partnership is expanding specifically by complementing an established restaurant.