Ritva Huttunen used to look at the Silent People and travellers hitting their brakes while driving along Highway 5. The artwork of Reijo Kela surely makes you want to hit the brakes, and it became clear that people travelling along Highway 5 wanted to explore it further.

During the cafe’s first summer, Ritva set up a tent in the field, lit a fire, made a few cups of fire-roasted kettle coffee and offered rusks to the first of her first customers. Years went by and the smoke coming from the fire signalled that Niittykahvila Cafe was open to all travellers.

As the number of customers grew, so did the cafe. One of the barns was turned into simple lodging for travellers, and one offered a small space for sales. Muurinpohja-crepes and fire-roasted kettle coffee were made on the open fire to the delight of customers. As the time goes by, the Meadow cottage was built for the heart of the restaurant. Niittykahvila Cafe and Meadow cottage restaurant grew into an international and unique oasis in the middle of these backwoods.

The cafe has offered jobs for countless young people, as well as Ritva who works as the cafe’s and restaurant´s hostess.

Finnish crepes as well as fire-roasted kettle coffee made on the fire have both remained popular from one year to the next.