Niina Utter made the impossible possible – “I’m Kotka’s most hated face”

A woman of action.

With these words, a restaurateur Niina Utteria describes Aleksi UusitaloCEO of Strömfors business park, and continues:

– Niina can do it. Many times people may have big speeches, but nothing happens. I knew about Niina that she talks a lot, but also does.

Uusitalo was not wrong.

The old Ruukki located in Ruotsinpyhtää became familiar to Utter last summer, because he accepted the challenge, rented an apartment in the Ruukki area and completely renovated the restaurant Mylly.

But Mylly is not the first restaurant that has experienced a total transformation at the hands of Utter. But Mylly is the first restaurant that is not located in Kotka.

First, I have to tell you something about Utter.

Niina Utter leaves no one cold. And he knows it.

Utter is a restaurateur who does not bow down to masters, but at the same time he thanks many of them.

– I have received more help from them than they have from me, Utter says directly.

He doesn’t go around or be shy, things are said directly. It’s a style that not everyone likes. At least in Kotka.

Utter says – again directly:

– I am the most hated person in Kotka.

There might even be a little pride in Utter’s voice.

Utter and his partners and spouses Niko Löyttynen started nine years ago from scratch.

A few years earlier, they had been struck by lightning and had a child. Ellen was half a year old when Utter founded the island restaurant Vaaku with his partners at the time.

However, not everything went as planned, so after a while Niina and Niko found themselves running Vaakku alone.

The beginning was anything but easy. However, the couple made the impossible possible.

– We had bought a restaurant located on the island and then it turned out that no one operates there. We had to do something about it ourselves, so we bought the ship as debt, says Utter.

Neither of them knew how to drive a boat, so Löyttynen went to school and learned. The following winter, he restored the boat, which was in poor condition, spending a total of 750 hours.

It paid off, because in the end it turned out that they had bought what is known to be the only fully mahogany boat in Finland that is in commercial traffic.

“Extremely fine and respected in boating circles,” says Utter.

Utter had seen the pain of a summer restaurant in his previous workplace. Every year, restaurant operations have to start from scratch.

– Chefs are key personnel. They had to find work for the winter as well, so I founded a lunch restaurant.

According to Utter, the lunch place was opened at a terrible risk, because they didn’t have a penny of money.

– We cleared the island restaurant Vaaku’s dishes there for the winter. There were five differences in Pohjaka, because we started to panic.

Now the couple has Vaakku, Tori, Klubi and Mylly.

During the interview, Utter has announced that he will only accept important calls. Even so, his phone rings often.

At the same time, the restaurateur has to solve several problems and give answers to the employees.

– I don’t know what causes my good stress tolerance. However, I have noticed that the more I give people responsibility, the better the company does.

Utter emphasizes that the employees are like family to him. But at the same time, Utter demands a lot. There are a few things he can’t stand from his employees: slow talking, walking behind and the answer “I don’t know”.

– I can be terribly steep, but also the most beautiful in the world. I don’t feel tired, I hate the feeling of weakness. The people around me, my staff, help me cope. I also understand that everyone in this chain needs their money, not just me, says Utter.

If a customer has offended an Utter employee, he encourages them – and himself: Don’t be discouraged by the comments, collect yourself, have a good shoulder line, stomach in and walk. Keep your chin up that the “crown tipu” image doesn’t always help.

His childhood in the suburbs of Rovaniemi was poor, because “father had started drinking alcohol” and left his wife millions in debt.

– But mother tried. She studied to become a special education nurse. I have had strong people in my life, like my godmother, Pasi Volanen and Tupu– mom.

Utter recalls that the Liver Box was always good. He didn’t feel that something was missing from his childhood home. Utter didn’t even realize he and mom were poor until one time at the store he asked for a lollipop and a Hubbabubba.

– Mother counted the money, it wasn’t quite enough. The older lady behind us came and asked if she could buy the girl candies. That’s when I realized we were poor.

Utter is grateful for how many good things he has received in his life. He believes it is partly due to the fact that through poverty he learned to be humble about life.

Everything is made from scratch, nothing is ready-made, Utter reminds several times during the interview.

Utter often goes full, hard and high. When he wanted to get wine bottles labeled with a certain label for the Kotka city park menu, Alko’s answer was, it will work if you label it yourself.

And Utterhan labeled, all six bottles of wine in each box of 200.

Utter thanks the city’s low hierarchy. In Kotka, the mayor can be reached by phone. Great things have been done on the part of the city.

The city creates infrastructure, but Utter reminds that the city cannot make everything ready for entrepreneurs, because there are other demands.

Utter is able to give his own daughter everything he didn’t get in his own childhood. Still, Utter feels guilty about working so hard.

Ellen has grown up in the back room of the restaurant, the staff is as familiar to her as her parents.

Utter wants to teach her daughter what her grandmother always said: Remember to help someone who stumbles.

– I often repeat to Ellen: Be kind to people, it’s not out of your control.