The Restaurant Industry in Hitra: Current Status and Future Outlook

The restaurant industry in Hitra municipality has a complex structure with 12 registered companies, distributed across several neighborhoods. In recent years, the industry has been marked by both strong growth and decline, with total sales revenue amounting to NOK 3.6 million in 2025. Workforce development has been more stable, with 36 employees in 2026. The industry includes both AS and ENK companies, with a mix of older and newer companies. There are no registered bankruptcies in the industry, but there is variation in the economic health of the companies.

Sales Development (2016–2025):

• 2016: NOK 9.0 million
• 2021: NOK 17.8 million (peak)
• 2023: NOK 5.4 million (low)
• 2025: NOK 3.6 million (increase of 63.6% from 2024)

Workforce Development (2016–2026):

• 2016: 83 employees
• 2023: 33 employees (low)
• 2026: 36 employees (increase of 5.3% from 2025)

Sales revenue has been highly volatile, with a strong increase of 98.6% from 2020 to 2021, followed by a decline of 40.3% from 2021 to 2022. Workforce development has been more gradual, with a decline of 28.3% from 2022 to 2023, but an increase of 11.8% from 2024 to 2025.

In Hitra, there are 12 companies registered in the restaurant industry, distributed across the following organizational forms:

Key Companies:

• Eliff As (Hitra): 11 employees, sales revenue NOK 5.3M, EBITDA -188.0K
• Thai Station As (Hitra): 7 employees, sales revenue NOK 3.2M, EBITDA 68.0K
• Hemnskjelkaia As (Hemnskjela): 0 employees, sales revenue NOK 3.5M, EBITDA 1.5M

None of the companies in the industry are registered bankrupt, but variation in economic health is clear. For example, Hemnskjelkaia As has a positive EBITDA of 41%, while Landstrykeren As has a negative EBITDA of -27%.

Restaurant activity in Hitra is distributed across the following neighborhoods:

Hitra is the most active neighborhood with 4 companies and 29 employees, while Knarrlagsund and Hestvika have less activity. Knarren Drift As in Knarrlagsund has 14 employees, but no sales revenue or EBITDA. Diner As in Hestvika has 5 employees, but no activity.

The industry has been marked by variation in economic health, but no bankruptcy registrations during the analysis. The most stable companies are Hemnskjelkaia As (positive EBITDA of 41%) and Thai Station As (positive EBITDA of 2%). However, companies such as Landstrykeren As and Eliff As have negative EBITDA values. This indicates that some companies have good economic health, while others face challenges. There are no bankruptcies registered, but there is a clear variation in the economic stability of the companies.

For entrepreneurs in the restaurant industry in Hitra, the following points are important to note:

1. Location Choice: Hitra is the most active neighborhood with 4 companies and 29 employees. This suggests that it may be advantageous to establish oneself in Hitra to leverage existing infrastructure and customer bases.

1. Differentiation: With a mix of companies with both positive and negative EBITDA values, it is important to create unique value to compete effectively.

1. Stable Market: Although sales revenue has been volatile, there are no bankruptcies registered, which indicates that the market is relatively stable. This can be an advantage for new companies seeking to establish themselves.

Development in Broader Industry (Restaurant/Café)

The broader industry restaurant/café in Hitra has 15 companies, showing that the industry is somewhat larger than the specific restaurant segment. Sales revenue for this industry has been somewhat higher, with NOK 6.7 million in 2025 compared to NOK 3.6 million for the restaurant industry. Workforce development has been similar, with 40 employees in 2026 for the broader industry.

Peer companies in the restaurant/café industry:

• Strand Hitra As (café): 4 employees, sales revenue NOK 3.2M, EBITDA -385.0K
• Anya Thai Takeaway Meka (Asian restaurant): 0 employees, sales revenue NOK 0
• Thai Bahn Savangsri (Asian restaurant): 0 employees, sales revenue NOK 0

The broader industry has a somewhat higher sales revenue, but also a mix of companies with both positive and negative EBITDA values. This suggests that there are opportunities for growth, but also challenges in terms of competitiveness.

The restaurant industry in Hitra municipality has a complex structure with both strong and weak economic health among the companies. There are opportunities for growth, especially in Hitra, where there is the most activity. However, it is important to be aware of competitiveness and differentiation to ensure profitability. SmartGrunder can help entrepreneurs find optimal addresses in Hitra for the restaurant industry, based on data and market analyses.