Making workplace lunches more innovative

Antti Jalomäki, head of the Juhola Business Park Management unit and an all-round specialist in business park management, had a long-time vision of better workplace lunches. His vision turned into reality in early February 2020, when the first BAD – short for Best Adventure of the Day – lunch restaurant opened its doors at Lintulahdenkuja 10 in Helsinki.

Antti got his idea about developing workplace lunches many years ago based on customer feedback and his own experiences. Restaurant services always spark the most feedback and greatest emotions in annual surveys among tenants.

“I wanted to come up with an alternative to lunch restaurant services that offered truly high-quality and tasty food made using fresh raw materials. When the Sesonki Gastro Bar was launched in connection with Citymarket in Järvenpää, I remember thinking that Matti Jämsen, in charge of the place, had the innovative and ambitious qualities I had been looking for,” says Antti Jalomäki.

“Antti handed me his business card during lunchtime at Sesonki and asked me to get in touch. It came at a great time, what with chefs continuing to leave the field. In this profession, much of the work takes place in the evening and on weekends, and the anti-social working hours push many chefs to change profession. High-quality lunch restaurants are in great demand among both clients and professionals who do not find large lunch restaurant chains particularly attractive,” says Matti Jämsen.

Studies indicate that people who have lunch away from their screens are more alert and creative, not to mention happier at work. Tasty food is ultimately the best motivation for taking an energising lunch break.

“I believe that restaurant services will play an important role in future competition in the field of property management. High-quality lunch and catering services boost the mood of all those who enjoy good food. In addition, it is a pleasure to serve clients in carefully designed premises where they can enjoy menus planned and provided by well-known top chefs,” Jalomäki explains.

At BAD, a team of top chefs plans and writes recipes for the restaurants to use. All the chain’s restaurants serve a coordinated daily lunch menu, which helps ensure the high quality of meals served at all the restaurants.

The first BAD restaurant opened in Helsinki, at Lintulahdenkuja 10, on Monday, 3 February 2020. The second restaurant will be launched in premises managed by Juhola Asset Management at Säterinkatu 6, in Leppävaara, Espoo in spring 2020.