Due to growing demand, the Finland's State Railways had a separate station restaurant built north of the station building proper in the 1940s. The new two-storey restaurant building had a dining area and a kitchen downstairs and staff rooms upstairs. The 1940s were good for the restaurant, as there were still relatively few cars and as the Karelian evacuees traveled a lot. The restaurant's popularity fell off sharply, however, mainly due to an ever increasing number of people traveling in private cars, which in turn meant that fewer people took the train. Also, schedules were tightened in order to remain competitive with car travel, allowing less time for a relaxed meal. The restaurant saw its business drop even farther once beer could freely be sold in coffee shops. In addition, the restaurant being open at night due to train traffic meant that the great majority of customers were drinking alcohol, which, in turn, made the experience less enjoyable and finally ended up being the reason for the restaurant closing down.