Hesburger

File:Heikki Salmela.jpg

The chain's history reaches back to 1966, when 20-year old Heikki Salmela opened a street food kiosk called Kievarin grilli in Naantali. He later opened the first Hesburger in the Hansakortteli shopping centre in 1980 on Kristiinankatu in Turku, which became the first element of the first fast food restaurant chain in Finland. In the 1980s the chain grew fast. Salmela sold the chain and several hotels in 1988 for almost 200 million Finnish markka. Three years later, during the early 1990s recession, he bought it back for 25 million markka.

Salmela has said in an interview that in the beginning, the name of the street his kiosk was located at sufficed for a name for the kiosk. After Salmela had founded his restaurant chain company, it needed a proper name. The name "Hesburger" was suggested, but Salmela thought the name didn't have "an American feel" to it. So he asked an advertisement bureau to come up with a name for his company. The advertisement bureau thought about suitable names for a couple of weeks, and in the end presented Salmela with the name they came up with, along with a bill of 100 thousand markka: "Hesburger".

With only 12 outlets in 1992, Hesburger expanded to over 200 restaurants in 60 cities and towns across Finland over the following decade, absorbing rival chain Carrols in 2002. The purchase of Carrols gave Hesburger some previously nonexistent leverage on the fast food market of Helsinki. Hesburger has kept rival chain McDonald's out of Turku efficiently: in 2014, there were 21 Hesburgers but only two McDonald's locations in the city. Hesburger has also expanded to international markets, opening outlets in the Baltic states and in Hamburg, Germany,{{cite web|url=http://www.hesburger.com/about-us |archive-url=https://archive.today/20090711124909/http://www.hesburger.com/about-us |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 July 2009 |title=Hesburger – Finland's largest chain of fast food hamburger outlets }} as well as a single location in Alanya, Turkey (opened in 2014,{{Cite web|url=https://www.hesburger.fi/hesburger-yrityksena/tiedotteet/ensimmainen-ravintola-turkkiin|title=Hesburger - Ensimmäinen ravintola Turkkiin|website=www.hesburger.fi|accessdate=3 September 2023|language=fi}} closed unknown date). There was a Hesburger in Damascus, Syria for a short period between 2004 and 2006, but it was closed as unprofitable.{{cite web |url=http://www.ksml.fi/uutiset/talous/hesburgerin-laajentuminen-lähi-itään-yskii-pahasti/280008 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120523202728/http://www.ksml.fi/uutiset/talous/hesburgerin-laajentuminen-l%C3%A4hi-it%C3%A4%C3%A4n-yskii-pahasti/280008 |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 May 2012 |title=Keskisuomalainen }} Further expansion into the Middle East has been discussed by the company.{{Cite news|url=https://www.iltalehti.fi/talous/a/200811088560780|title=Hesburger ei ole päässyt Lähi-idässä puusta pitkälle|access-date=18 July 2017|language=fi}}

Hesburger expanded to Poland by opening a delivery-only restaurant in Warsaw in 2024.{{cite web| url = https://www.is.fi/taloussanomat/art-2000010303278.html|title=Hesburger laajeni Puolaan – aivan uudella konseptilla | author = Laukkanen, Joona ; STT | work = Ilta-Sanomat | date = 2024-03-19 | accessdate = 2024-04-02|language=fi}}

In summer of 2024, Hesburger expanded to Romania by opening its first restaurant in Râmnicu Vâlcea.{{cite web|url=https://www.mtvuutiset.fi/artikkeli/hesburger-laajensi-toimintaansa-romaniaan/8952942|title=Hesburger laajensi toimintaansa Romaniaan|work=mtvuutiset.fi|date=2024-06-06|accessdate=2024-06-06|language=fi}}

The first attempts to enter the Russian market were made at the end of the 80's. In the summer of 1988 through the joint Soviet-Finnish enterprise in St. Petersburg (and later in Vyborg and Petrozavodsk) street tents opened under the Liha Polar brand made in the Hesburger color scheme. In the menu was hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fries and other dishes are typical for Hesburger.{{cite web | url=https://pastvu.com/p/560435 | title=LIHA POLAR первая иностранная сеть общественного питания в СССР }}{{cite web | url=https://historydocs.d3.ru/larek-fastfuda-liha-polar-na-isaakievskoi-ploshchadi-1988-god-leningrad-2082353/?sorting=rating | title=Ларек фастфуда "Liha Polar" на Исаакиевской площади, 1988 год, Ленинград }}{{cite web | url=https://alex-news.ru/poslednie-gody-sssr-kak-zhili-lyudi/ | title=Последние годы СССР: как жили люди | date=29 April 2019 }}{{cite web | url=https://foto-history.livejournal.com/16623156.html | title=Первая летчица России }} In the late 1990s/early 2000s restaurants ceased to exist for unknown reasons.{{cite web | url=https://m.vk.com/wall-98221643_338230 | title=LIHA POLAR первая иностранная сеть общественного.. | Питер. Взгляд назад. | VK }}{{cite web | url=https://vk.com/wall-112349057_2574 | title=«СуперБургер» может заменить финскую сеть Hesburger.. | Animation News | VK }}

The first Russian Hesburger opened in January 2010 in Moscow, and a year later in St. Petersburg.{{cite web | url=https://www.rbc.ru/spb_sz/29/03/2022/624303eb9a794774600e9ae5 | title=Еще одна сеть фастфуда закрывает рестораны в Петербурге | date=29 March 2022 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.dp.ru/a/2011/07/13/ASTERA_vivela_na_rinok_Pe | title=ASTERA вывела на рынок Петербурга финскую сеть Hesburger }}{{cite web | url=https://www.sostav.ru/news/2011/11/15/spr4/ | title=Владельцы мясокомбината «Останкинский» займутся развитием в России сети фаст-фуда Hesburger }} The network worked on the rights of master franchise LLC Rusburger, owned by the meat-industrial company Ostankino.{{cite web |url=http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1857257 |title=«Велком» разложит мясо по тарелкам |author=Ксения Шамакина |date=2012-01-24 |work=Коммерсант, №11, стр. 10 |publisher= |accessdate=2015-06-28 |archive-date=2015-07-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701030844/http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1857257 |url-status=live }} By the end of 2012, Hesburger still opened 13 restaurants, as well as with the help of partners launched restaurants in Ufa, Krasnoyarsk and in the far East.{{cite web | url=https://www.retail.ru/news/ostankinskiy-fast-fud-ili-rusburger-protiv-gamburgera | title="Останкинский» фаст-фуд, или «Русбургер» против «Гамбургера" | date=15 November 2011 }}

In December 2013, Hesburger changed owners and became a group of companies called "Megagrupp".https://franshiza.ru/news/read/rossiyskiy_hesburger_smenil_vladelca/ Российский Hesburger сменил владельца]{{cite web | url=https://franchisinginfo.ru/statya/307/franshizy-cinnabon-auntie-anne-s-i-hesburger | title=Франшизы Cinnabon, Auntie Anne's и Hesburger }}

On March 29, 2022, Hesburger announced a slow departure from the Russian and Belarusian markets.{{cite web | url=https://inosmi.ru/20220330/hesburger-253604207.html | title=Hesburger уходит из России медленнее, чем предполагалось | date=30 March 2022 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.vedomosti.ru/business/news/2022/03/29/915737-finskaya-set-hesburger-zakroet-svoi-restorani-v-rossii-i-belorussii | title=Финская сеть Hesburger закроет свои рестораны в России и Белоруссии | date=29 March 2022 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/5282284 | title=Сеть быстрого питания Hesburger летом закроет свои рестораны в России и Белоруссии | date=29 March 2022 }} 40 restaurants were available in Russia.{{cite web | url=https://megagroup.com.ru/hesburger/ | title=Hesburger - «МегаГрупп»|language=ru}}

In May, a local brand called SuperBurger was registered with a logo similar to Hesburger's, and intended to replace Hesburger.{{cite web | url=https://lenoblast.bezformata.com/listnews/finskomu-hesburger-idyot-superburger/105846046/ | title=На смену закрывшемуся финскому Hesburger идёт СуперБургер }}{{cite web | url=https://m.47news.ru/articles/212515/ | title=На смену закрывшемуся финскому Hesburger идёт СуперБургер › Статьи › 47новостей из Ленинградской области }}{{cite web | url=https://crispy.news/2022/05/25/busines/superburger-mozhet-zamenit-finskuju-set-hesburger/ | title=«СуперБургер» может заменить финскую сеть Hesburger | Crispy News/Криспи Ньюс | date=25 May 2022 }}

Some Hesburger restaurants continued to operate as of April 2023.{{Cite web|url=https://2gis.ru/moscow/firm/70000001020379247|title=Hesburger, кафе быстрого питания, улица Арбат, 22/2 ст4, Москва — 2ГИС|website=2gis.ru|accessdate=3 September 2023|language=ru}}{{Cite web|url=https://eda.yandex.ru/showcaptcha?cc=1&mt=01ADBE3C29CCE82F9B9F74F57EC06BCFC5DDBD2449FBF69696F4418CD6A1EF2AB39492257BEBFCE9A04B07F0DF49DAD2A9F6CF85615FA59D38327F88DDB17F62AE0A99C484A5D1F5C7284FC5AE69E7D1A179FBB3F2C81CCA3EAF5460CDA4DDCE672938720113CD2A89F7CDD207FA1FAD4801157991861E3981F2&retpath=aHR0cHM6Ly9lZGEueWFuZGV4LnJ1L21vc2Nvdy9yL2hlc2J1cmdlcl9wemR1cT8%2C_0c9afe2f050f30238767a64aadd4b79a&t=2/1693739985/29538c57667231e7db2b827e0b34350a&u=a119ace5-4c687d71-80cf7b6e-98aea3ef&s=8415a5ca83fbd5619bb11da19675ca08|title=Yandex|website=eda.yandex.ru|accessdate=3 September 2023|language=ru}}

File:Hesburger Helsingin yliopiston metroasemalla.JPG.]]

File:Rukkifilee eine.IMG 2605.JPG, French fries and a Coke Zero (regular)]]

Hesburger employs over 8,000 people, of whom 5,400 are based in Finland.{{cite web|language=fi|url=https://www.hesburger.fi/hesburger-yrityksena/liiketoiminta/organisaatio-ja-tunnusluvut|title=Hesburger - Organisaatio ja tunnusluvut|website=www.hesburger.fi|access-date=18 July 2017}}

Hesburger has been actively expanding its operations in Lithuania, announcing investments of 3,5 million euros in 2016,{{cite web|url=http://www.vz.lt/sektoriai/paslaugos/2016/06/13/prie-moletu-atidarytas-naujas-hesburger|title=Prie Molėtų atidarytas naujas "Hesburger"|first=Sigita|last=Migonytė|publisher=|accessdate=19 July 2018}} around 4 million in 2017{{cite web|url=https://www.15min.lt/verslas/naujiena/bendroves/hesburger-siemet-lietuvoje-planuoja-investuoti-3-4-mln-euru-ir-atidaryti-iki-4-nauju-restoranu-663-740076|title='Hesburger' šiemet Lietuvoje planuoja investuoti 3–4 mln. eurų ir atidaryti iki 4 naujų restoranų|publisher=|accessdate=19 July 2018}} and 4 million in 2018.{{cite web|url=https://www.vz.lt/paslaugos/2018/02/06/hesburger-i-pletra-lietuvoje-investuos-4-mln-eur|title='Hesburger' į plėtrą Lietuvoje investuos 4 mln. Eur|first=Sigita|last=Migonytė|publisher=|accessdate=19 July 2018}}

• Hesburger hamburger restaurants{{cite web|date=24 August 2017|url=https://www.talouselama.fi/uutiset/hesburger-vei-burgerinsa-bulgariaan-aikoo-valloittaa-koko-maan/ff87f2ee-7b16-3fb6-94b6-d3a643238f63|title=Hesburger vei burgerinsa Bulgariaan - aikoo valloittaa koko maan|website=Talouselämä|accessdate=26 December 2017}}
• Hesecafe – hamburgers, coffee drinks and pastries{{cite book | last=Clements | first=J. | title=An Armchair Traveller's History of Finland | publisher=Haus Publishing | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-909961-01-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p1crDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT64 | access-date=26 December 2017 | page=64}}
• HeseHotelli – hotels with Hesburger restaurant also acting as the hotel reception{{cite book | last=Norum | first=R. | title=The Rough Guide to Finland | publisher=Rough Guides | series=Rough Guide to... | year=2010 | isbn=978-1-84836-969-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2jz7B4Pd0ngC&pg=PT246 | access-date=26 December 2017 | page=246}}
• Hese kotituotteet – retail products
• Hese Nakkari – snack kiosk products
• Heseautopesu – car wash services for Hesburger customers
• Döner HeseKebab & Gyros - sells Döner Kebabs and Gyros
• HesePark - a skate park in Turku

• List of hamburger restaurants

• {{Official website|http://www.hesburger.com/}}
• {{commons category-inline}}

Category:Fast-food chains of Finland

Category:Fast-food hamburger restaurants

Category:Fast-food franchises

Category:Regional restaurant chains

Category:Restaurants established in 1966

Category:Finnish companies established in 1966

Category:1966 establishments in Finland