Shops | Itis became cozier and more stylish after the renovation, says Arja Lehtovaara, who stopped for an ice cream

To Itäkeskus A new shopping hall opened inside the shopping center Itis. Kauppahalli is the fourth in Helsinki, but the first outside the inner city.

Although the actual opening is only on August 9, the shopping hall is already open to customers. The incompleteness is visible, because not all shops are open yet and the premises are being worked on until the last minute.

Right the space does not look like a typical shopping mall. The entrance to the hall is inside the shopping center, so it is not its own separate building.

The selection, on the other hand, is more traditional: meat, fish, fresh vegetables and fruit, as well as coffee, pastries and other delicacies.

This is the reason why the area is generally classified as a shopping mall, says Itis’ marketing manager Johanna Tolppola.

On Monday In the morning, quite a few people pass through the shopping hall and some have also stopped to shop.

I am Tommila has come from Porvoo just to visit the Sopilka store, which sells Ukrainian delicacies.

Tommila is from Kyiv herself, which is why she brought, among other things, Kyiv cake.

He remembers that he last visited Itis a couple of years ago. The place looked very different then.

“Now it looks really good.”

Ritta Leminen has arrived there by chance, and he was not aware that the market hall was opening today.

The opening was a pleasant surprise. Leminen says that it is convenient to walk through the shopping center and the route has previously been closed.

Leminen has already had time to get to know the hall’s offerings a little, and he has noticed that many shops are closed.

“It looks really good, as long as they can open up all the stores.”

In Itäkeskus resident Arja Lehtovaara has arrived to enjoy ice cream.

Lehtovaara finds the shopping center interesting and thinks about what it will look like when it is finally completed.

“Somehow it still looks Unfinished. You often have to go to the center to eat, should this mean that you stay in Itäkeskus more often?”

In Lehtovaara’s opinion, the shopping center is cozier and more stylish after the renovation. For example, he likes the wood-colored railings that have been replaced in the corridors.

Entrepreneurs are in full swing preparing their points of sale for customers.

Husky Deli is already open, but there is still plenty to file, he says Janne Huikko. Husky Deli is part of the Husky Brewing company.

Preparing for the opening has been a busy job.

“The whole summer has been a long day. There could be a few more hours in the day, but hopefully it will bear fruit now,” says Huikko.

At the beginning of the year, due to the lack of brewing facilities, the beer has also run out.

“It has been a rush to make more beer to fill the cabinets.”

Now the situation is better and there is enough beer. Still, opening a new place excites Huikko.

“It’s really nerve-wracking when you can’t say at all how this is going to turn out. We hope that people will find it here.”

This is another Kelly Guo and his business partner Lulu Wang’s opened by the Momochi cafe.

Guo also says that he worked a lot for the opening.

“There have been no days off at all in the last two weeks.”

Guo likes the mall concept and the fact that food-related stores are placed close to each other.

Market hall has been completed as part of the renovation of the shopping center Itis, and its share of the renovation budget is approximately 13 million euros.

Below is a list of all shops operating in the shopping hall. Some are still closed.

There are also three other shopping centers in Helsinki.