Sotto to open franchised restaurant in Helsinki’s Kamppi district

Sotto Pizzeria will open its tenth restaurant in Helsinki’s Kamppi district in early 2027. Located at Lönnrotinkatu 9, the restaurant will operate as a franchise and will be the chain’s first in Helsinki city centre. Sotto announced the plans in a press release published on 12 November. The exact opening date will be announced later.

Kamppi expands Sotto’s Helsinki restaurant network

The Kamppi opening will take Sotto into a new part of Helsinki. The chain already has restaurants in the city’s Käpylä, Munkkiniemi and Sompasaari districts, but does not yet have a city-centre presence. The announcement therefore marks both a new restaurant opening and the chain’s first move into central Helsinki.

Kamppi will be the fourth restaurant in the Helsinki network described in the press release, and the tenth across the chain as a whole. These two figures should be kept distinct: this is not Sotto’s first Helsinki opening, but an addition to its existing presence with a city-centre address.

The location has been announced, but the timing remains broadly set for early in the year. For customers, the next detail to look out for is the exact opening date. The stated timeframe is early 2027 and should not be taken as confirmation of a January opening. The chain says it will announce the precise date later.

The Kamppi restaurant is therefore a planned opening, not yet part of the chain’s operating restaurant network. The milestone of reaching ten restaurants also depends on this planned opening. The November announcement sets out the chain’s next step, scheduled for the following year.

Growth continues after the 2026 openings

The first Sotto pizzeria using the chain’s current concept opened in Kupittaa, a district of Turku, in 2023. Since then, restaurants have opened in Vantaa, Helsinki, Tampere, Porvoo and Lahti, as well as a second location in Turku. The Kamppi plans continue this expansion across several Finnish cities.

In 2026, the chain opened restaurants in Porvoo, Lahti and Turku’s Länsi 1 shopping centre. Kamppi is not part of that year’s openings: its announced timeframe is early 2027. The press release therefore combines a review of openings completed during the year with news of the next planned restaurant.

In this context, 2023 specifically marks the starting point for the current concept: the opening of the restaurant in Turku’s Kupittaa district in that format. The tenth-restaurant milestone, meanwhile, describes the size the chain says it will reach with its next opening.

The move into Helsinki city centre is significant in its own right alongside the chain’s wider growth. The Porvoo and Lahti openings, together with the second Turku restaurant, reflect its expansion in 2026, while Kamppi strengthens its network in a city where it already operates. Sotto is thus continuing to grow within Helsinki through a new location.

Responsibilities are shared between the chain and franchisee

Sotto sets out a clear basic division of responsibilities for the Kamppi restaurant. The chain is responsible for the concept, ingredients and marketing, while the franchisee handles the restaurant’s day-to-day operations. For those in the franchise sector, the opening is therefore of interest not only for its address, but also for how chain-wide support and local restaurant operations will work together.

The stated division distinguishes the functions managed by the chain from the franchisee’s daily responsibilities. The concept, ingredients and marketing are assigned to the chain; day-to-day restaurant operations fall to the franchisee. Sotto is therefore presenting Kamppi not simply as another location, but also explaining how it will operate as a franchise.

This information applies specifically to the Kamppi restaurant. It should not be taken to mean that every other Sotto restaurant has the same ownership or operating model. The confirmed franchise element in this announcement is the model specified for the new city-centre restaurant and its stated division of responsibilities.

For prospective franchisees, this division provides a starting point for more detailed questions. What the concept, ingredient provision and marketing cover, along with the practical requirements of daily operations, should be discussed separately with the chain. The public description outlines the main roles, but assessing whether to join requires a closer look at what they would mean for the individual franchisee.

The search for city-centre sites and franchisees continues

Sotto says it is continually looking for new city-centre locations and entrepreneurs interested in joining the chain. The announced Kamppi opening fits that direction: the new restaurant will be in central Helsinki and run by a franchisee.

This parallel search for sites and franchisees is another key message for those following Finland’s franchise market. Beyond Kamppi, however, the press release does not name any further city-centre locations or provide opening schedules for them. The ongoing search should therefore be distinguished from the restaurant already announced for Lönnrotinkatu.

Prospective franchisees interested in the chain should clarify which towns, cities and central locations Sotto is currently assessing. It would also be useful to establish what the stated division of responsibilities would mean for the particular restaurant under discussion. The Kamppi opening offers a current example of the model, but an individual investment decision requires further, specific clarification.

Practical checklist: customers should look out for the exact Kamppi opening date. Prospective franchisees should ask the chain about available location opportunities and review responsibilities for the concept, ingredients, marketing and day-to-day operations before making any decisions.