Review of Kauppayhtiö coffee shop (Rovaniemi, Finland) [Kauppayhtio]

I have been in Rovaniemi, Finland for about three weeks working on my thesis as I lounge and enjoy the culture and I feel the need to mention a local coffee shop that has been home to some very productive work visits not to mention a great atmosphere for spending a Saturday night. The name of the place is Kauppayhtiö and it is in downtown Rovaniemi, Finland (I wrote it in the headline with and without the two dots over the o at the end so hopefully you’ll be able to find this review by searching it both ways- those of you who can’t type the o with two dots on your computer keyboard). It is located next to a Chinese Restaurant on Valtakatu street. The atmosphere is that of a retro themed cafe with old artifacts and memorabilia. You are greeted in the entry way by two old fashioned candy dispensers, you walk in and there are round tables with old, plastic, bucket chairs, you can find an ancient Playboy Pin Ball machine in the corner, an old juke box, old, organge and grey fuzzy couches, a pool table and tons of old memorabilia from Finland hanging on the walls and placed throughout the cafe. View the pictures below for a more visual experience:

Courtesy of flickr user yourbartender

Courtesy of flickr user orion

Something to note about why this place is so cool, in addition to the atmosphere and a really good menu selection, you can buy anything in the shop. the concept is set up that whatever isn’t nailed down is yours for a price. I had my eyes on an ancient looking teen magazine showcasing the talents of a former boy band member (no, I’m not gonna embarrass myself by saying it) but it was really tempting to buy. The tables, the couches, photos on the wall, magazines lying around…if you see something you like, ask the price!
I can’t talk a lot about the food because I only had coffee, red bull and yorgurt smoothies but I did see a ton of people buying the sandwiches that looked pretty good (If I didn’t have such good cooking to come home to each night I would have tried one myself!) The banana yogurt smoothies though are GREAT. And, it is one of the cheapest places to buy coffee compared to the rest of the city. One and a half euros gets you one cup that you can refill one time so it is like 75cents a cup and it was REALLY good.
The music was very indie, soft rock type of sound. I liked it a lot, had the classic, home feel of a coffee shop that is way too cool for its own good but you can’t help love it there. You have to try to really understand. For a mid to upper 20s and younger 30s it is a must but I saw a ton of older people in there at all hours so there is no limit on who can check it out. I went with some friends last night (about 10/10:30pm) and they had a DJ, lots of people coming in from graduation parties (last day of school in Finland was yesterday). Later into the night, the music got really loud but with the no smoking law going into effect last Thursday I had no reason to leave other than getting tired. Really, if you want a great, trendy, hip coffee shop, check out Kauppayhtiö. They have a HUGE ice cream selection if you aren’t sold yet!!