Who We Are and Where We Come From?
Pekan Pizza is a pizzeria in Kälviä founded on May Day 2019 by two siblings from Kälviä, Pekka and Sanna. Pekan Pizza launched its franchising business in autumn 2025. The first location to join the Pekan Pizza franchise family was Neste Revonlahti.
Where did it all begin? Pekka and Sanna's parents, Leena and Jukka Borén, established Kälviä Kesoil in 1987. The pizzeria in Kälviä now operates in that very same building. A generational transition took place in 2018. Inspired by their parents' perseverance and entrepreneurial spirit, the siblings found the courage to create their own distinctive concept, Pekan Pizza. The company's official name is Kälviän Kaffeli Oy, with Pekan Pizza representing its steadily growing business year after year.
Pekka's Story
Behind Pekan Pizza is Pekka from Kälviä, well known for his sense of humor. He worked for many years as a lunch chef and baker in the pizza industry. During that time, Pekka often felt he would do many things differently from others in the field.
After years of valuable experience, Pekka founded Pekan Pizza together with his younger sister Sanna on May Day 2019, at the service station built by their parents. Now, Pekka has the opportunity to do things exactly the way he had envisioned and planned for years.
Growing Popularity Led to Pekan Pizza's Franchising
From day one, customers at Pekan Pizza have been enjoying their meals with a smile—whether it's Kebulainen, Kirkkovene, or Ullavalainen pizzas. The siblings' strong connection to their hometown of Kälviä is clearly reflected in Pekan Pizza's marketing. They have even created their own local-themed concept, featuring slogan boards that express truths in the Kälviä dialect.
Through hard work, carefully selected ingredients, and a bold attitude, the siblings have succeeded in creating a delicious and distinctive product that leaves a lasting impression on customers.
Pekan Pizza has now expanded into franchising. All Pekan Pizza locations share a common menu, but each restaurant also highlights local identity—for example, through its own regional signature pizza and by incorporating local sayings into the brand's visibility.
The first location to join the Pekan Pizza family in Finland was Neste Revonlahti, where Pekan Pizza opened on December 29, 2025.
Memories from the Early Days
First, we set out to find the most delicious pizza dough we could—one with roots tracing back to Italy. On top of that, we carefully selected high-quality local ingredients, favoring Finnish products whenever possible, and combined flavors to complement each other perfectly. After that, we gave our pizzas descriptive names inspired by our local roots.
We call our most popular pizzas "Pekan Pizza Classics," and their names are either locally inspired or simply full of personality. In addition to our local specialty pizzas, long "pole pizzas," rolls, and folded salad pizzas, we also offer well-known pizzas from around the world, ranging from Americano to Tropicana.
Our very first customer ordered a folded salad pizza called Tankar, choosing Mango Curry as the sauce. We still remember that exciting feeling—this is where it all begins! From the very start, our pizza menu has brought a smile to its readers' faces. In the right company, it can even spark bursts of laughter!
Especially our locally inspired pizzas have become true favorites. Ullavalainen, Käläviäläinen, Kaarlebyyläinen, and Lohtajalainen quickly captured the essence of Pekan Pizza: local spirit and humor, always guided by great taste and generous portions.
The popularity of Pekan Pizza continues to grow, and our reputation is spreading further and further. In addition to our delicious pizzas, we are known for our down-to-earth approach, and from the very beginning we have stayed true to our values: locality, humor, and friendliness.
Behind the names of our pizzas, you'll find local dialect words, sports and temperance societies, businesses, and even a touch of politics. Kebulainen, Voimankoitto, Salonkukka, Jukkola, and Kirkkovene are among our all-time favorites. And it always brings a bit of a smile when selling a large Kebulainen.
Locally Baked – Topped with Finnish Ingredients
For the toppings on our Italian-style pizza dough, we select ingredients that are produced as locally as possible, with a strong focus on Finnish origin. All our meats—chicken, minced meat, salami crumble, pepperoni, bacon, and pizza strips—are made from Finnish meat and produced in Finland.
The flavor of our pizzas is built on milk from Finnish farms, which Valio expertly crafts into our pizza cheese and blue cheese. Our cheddar and Koskenlaskija sauces are also made by Valio.
At Pekan Pizza, you can order our seasonal "Päkäpizza" during Easter. The minced lamb comes from Jokela Sheep Farm in Lohtaja and Kurikka Sheep Farm in Siikajoki.
Moose mince is one of the most popular toppings at Pekan Pizza. It works perfectly both on pizzas and in rolls.
Jukkolan leipäjuusto has been chosen as the best squeaky cheese in Finland, and you can find this Lohtaja-made specialty in our pizzas. Our black pepper cream cheese, Jukkolan Mustajussi, also comes from Lohtaja.
Whenever possible, we always use Finnish ingredients for our pizza toppings. Freshly pressed Finnish garlic is an excellent extra topping for garlic lovers.
We also recommend trying our black pepper cream cheese, Jukkolan Mustajussi from Lohtaja, which adds a refined kick to the pizza.
Our Values
Pekan Pizza creates distinctive pizzas while honoring local spirit and rural traditions. We respect the long-term work done in Finnish countryside and the identity rooted in our history. Locality, friendliness, and humor are among our most important values. Alongside all of this, we remain firmly committed to the taste and generosity of our pizzas.
By combining high-quality ingredients with Italian expertise, we have created something truly unique that cannot be found elsewhere. With humility, we continue to grow and develop, offering you the world's best Pekan Pizza.
Responsibility (ESG) and the Ingredients We Use
ESG refers to respect for environmental responsibility, social responsibility, and good governance. In its operations, Pekan Pizza ensures that all ingredients we use are responsibly produced, that waste is minimized as much as possible, and that all collective agreements, laws, and regulations are strictly followed. We also genuinely take care of equality in the workplace and maintain a positive working atmosphere.
We have listed all the product information for the ingredients we use here.
