Zarillo leaves Turku losses, opens Tampere restaurant

"The Turku trip turned into costly lessons," Aamulehti reports, as Zarillo withdraws from Turku and opens a sixth restaurant in Tampere's Tesoma shopping center

Widmann says the Turku venture produced around €100,000 in losses for the chain and for the franchise operators, noting that poor brand awareness in Turku and perhaps a slightly off location hurt the restaurant’s prospects. The paper adds that the company’s decision to concede was driven by the need to redeploy energy where growth seems stronger, even as the CEO stresses the hunger to succeed.

Zarillo has been active in Pirkanmaa since 1998 and now runs six restaurants in the region, including Tampere city center, Hervanta, Pirkkala and Sastamala. Widmann himself now runs the Tesoma location, which customers have quickly found and praised, giving the business a positive mood. The entrepreneur says he is not done expanding and that the Helsinki area has sparked interest in the concept, suggesting more outlets could follow in the future.