Fire-destroyed Näätämö grocery store to be rebuilt after community support

The Nord1 grocery store in Inari’s Näätämö village, which burned down in April, will be replaced with a new 1,200-square-meter building, owners Juha and Jari Kekäle confirmed to Yle on Monday.

The brothers stated that planning has advanced to the competitive bidding stage for design and construction, with groundbreaking expected as soon as possible. Following the tender process, they will apply for a building permit from the Municipality of Inari, which has pledged to expedite approvals for the project.

Nearly 1,000 messages of encouragement—primarily from Norway and southern Finland—have urged the Kekäle family to rebuild. Many noted the store’s importance to the remote border community, where the nearest alternative is roughly 50 kilometers away in Kirkkoniemi, Norway. Jari Kekäle remarked that the outpouring of support, including visits from distant relatives, had been unexpected.

The April 11 fire, likely caused by a solar panel system according to police, reduced the decades-old family business to ruins. The Kekäles, third-generation grocers, had briefly questioned whether the store’s legacy had ended.