Hesburger – Finland’s largest fast food chain
How It All Began
Hesburger’s history began in 1966 in Naantali, where Heikki Salmela and his wife Kirsti established their first grilled food kiosk, Kievarin Grilli. In the 1970's, Heikki and Kirsti, as grilled-food entrepreneurs, proceeded from Naantali to Turku, where their Puutorin Grilli was especially popular with the locals.
In the 1980's, as fast food culture gained a stronger foothold in Finland, the first fast food restaurants began to enter the market. In 1980, the first restaurant bearing the name Hesburger was established in the newly-opened Hansakortteli shopping centre in Turku.