Alko’s Collections Being Removed – Changes to Information Services
Alko has terminated its service agreement for its collections and is transferring the collections from the Hotel and Restaurant Museum in May 2025. The museum continues to respond to inquiries about beverage history, while Alko-related questions can be directed to Alko’s customer service.
The Hotel and Restaurant Museum has been responsible for Alko’s store museum collections since 1999 based on a service agreement with Alko Oy. The collections contain unique material about alcohol sales, alcohol policy, and alcohol culture, including archival materials, photographs, and objects such as alcohol bottles and store fixtures.
Alko terminated the service agreement in December 2024 and is moving the collections in May 2025. Alko is donating the 1930s store interior to the museum as well as material related to restaurant supervision and broader beverage culture.
Over the decades, the museum has developed extensive expertise regarding Alko’s collections. The collections have been catalogued and accessible to the public. The museum’s information service has responded to inquiries and enabled research.
Beverage cultural heritage remains part of the museum’s own extensive collections. We are concerned about the future of this unique cultural heritage when it moves from professional museum care.
Changes to Information Service: From May 2025, questions about Alko, its products, and history should be directed to Alko’s customer service (tel. 020 692 771, asiakaspalvelu@alko.fi). The museum will no longer assist with dating alcohol bottles or provide label copies for productions.