Allu’s grill, which helped Mika Häkki, told bad news: “We’re in trouble”

Arno, Minna and Airi Kotilainen at the old Allu grill in Varisto in 1996. Esa Pyysalo

The legendary motor restaurant Allu grilli located in Vantaa filed for bankruptcy on Monday. There was a grill Mika Häkkinen first sponsor before F1 career.

– I don’t know if Mika would have continued driving if we hadn’t supported Allu, who founded the grill 51 years ago Airi Kotilainen75, reflects.

Grilli, like many other restaurants, has run into financial difficulties in recent years.

– We have 40,000 euros in debt. If someone comes to support, we will continue, but at the moment we are in trouble, says Kotilainen directly.

He told the grill’s employees about the bankruptcy filing on Tuesday. Kotilainen’s two daughters, who own the place today, and two other people work in the restaurant. The resident himself is only helping to run the operation.

– With a small group, we have tried to press that the wage costs would be lower.

Difficult times

Allu grill’s problems started four years ago, when it moved from the office building being demolished in Myyrmäki to the current premises.

The restaurant rented a new office space, which had to be converted into a restaurant. 20,000 euros were budgeted for the renovation, but no less than 100,000 euros were burned in the end.

– We had to dismantle all the office spaces and make a big hall on the side of the restaurant. The kitchen had to be completely redone. We took on debt for that.

Half a year after the renovation, the corona pandemic started.

– We had to close the doors. We only sold takeaway food, which made us feel really bad.

According to Kotilainen, Allu’s grill received 23,000 euros in subsidies during the corona crisis.

– But it was the last straw in our sales. It wasn’t much help for the company.

After the corona crisis, the price of electricity skyrocketed when Russia started a war of aggression in Ukraine. Allu grill’s electricity bills quadrupled.

– Then the cost of food products went up by up to 50 percent, Kotilainen spins his head.

The story continues after the picture.

Through the back door

In the early 80s, the situation was different. Allu did so well on the grill that it started sponsoring young Mika Häkkinen’s car racing hobby.

– Mika’s father probably sent 50-70 letters to big companies and asked for sponsor help for Mika, but no one gave it. After that he came to us and asked if we would have a chance to support Mika.

Kotilainen does not want to reveal what kind of amount the restaurant used to support the future F1 star.

– We have never told anyone. It’s our shared secret, the woman laughs.

The F1 legend has not forgotten his supporter. According to Kotilainen, he still calls Häkkinen from time to time, but the master rarely has time for the grill these days.

In the early days of his F1 career, the situation was different, when Häkkinen didn’t have children yet. In the early 90s, he was a regular guest at Allu’s grill when he visited Finland.

– Even when Mika had a crash in Adelaide and then returned to Finland, he came directly to us from the airport. Our restaurant was then in Varisto.

According to the resident, Häkkinen arrived at the grill through the back door and went straight to the staff’s dining room, where the other customers could not see.

– Mika was a bit unhappy then and went to his cabin. But when he came back a little over a month later, he was completely different. The kind that starts driving again.

The story continues after the picture.

The room is full

At the Allu grill, Häkkinen’s achievements in the royal class of motor sports were followed closely. At that time, the restaurant showed every F1 race.

When the Finn secured the first world championship of his career in Suzuka in 1998, the atmosphere at Allu’s grill was on the roof.

– We probably had 250 people inside – and there would have been more, but we couldn’t fit. When the championship was confirmed, we offered everyone a koohar, Kotilainen recalls.

The story continues after the picture.

But then the woman’s thought returns from memories to the present. A restaurant with about a hundred seats, which also has two cabins for 16 people, is in danger of going upside down.

– After the summer, we have been more lively, but I still have a terrible feeling about this. What will customers think if we go bankrupt? It makes me feel really bad.

In the end, the decision on self-initiated bankruptcy was made quickly, but the owners Marianne and Minna Kotilainen are still looking forward to what the future will bring.