Our STory
Welcome to Huset: a place where stories have been shared, milestones celebrated, and community built for over 70 years.
What began as a humble building in the Arctic frontier has grown into a symbol of culture, connection, and tradition in Longyearbyen. From its earliest days as a café and kiosk to becoming a hub for fine dining and, Huset has always been more than just a building.
It’s a living part of Svalbard’s history, and this is the story of how one building came to reflect the spirit of an entire community.
1980's & 90's
Planleggingen og byggingen av Huset startet i 1948, i regi av gruveselskapet Store Norske og arkitekt Jacob Hansen. I 1951 åpnet dørene offisielt, som en familieeid virksomhet drevet av Richard og Petra Knutsen.
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Huset var åpent for alle innbyggere i Longyearbyen og ble raskt kjent som «byens hjerte». Det startet med kiosk og kafé, men bygget vokste raskt og rommet etter hvert både kino, kirke, skole, butikk, postkontor, og til og med et midlertidig sykehus og flyplassterminal.
From 1972 to 1977, Torgny Knutsen took over the management of the café when his brother Richard moved back to mainland Norway. It was in 1977 that Huset first changed ownership, first to Nordic AS and then to Næringsbygg AS, who, after renovations, opened “Longyearbyen Grill & Restaurant”, serving a wide variety of dishes, including polar bear meat.
Towards the end of the 1970s, Hroar Holm arrived to lead Huset and introduced the concept of Saturday Steak. A local tradition that’s still popular with residents to this day.
1960's & 70's
1980's & 90's
In the 1980’s Hroar Holm started Huset’s wine collection, which quickly grew to over 20,000 bottles. During this time, he transformed the restaurant to focus more on fine dining, offering a menu of Melba Toast, Shrimp Cocktail, Flambéed Steak and an ice cream coup.
During the 90s, Huset continued to go through more renovations in the café, kitchen and cinema room, and a pub opened.
In 2004, management of Huset passed to Ivar Tollefsen and Odd Harald Hauge, who created Huset AS. The wine cellar was expanded to its present size and received its first accolade, a ‘One Glass’ award from the Wine Spectator Magazine.
In February 2022, ownership of Huset returned to Store Norske, the original proprietors, with Hurtigruten Svalbard taking over the management of the building. In 2023, the building was returned to its original colour, with its traditions, history and legacy, living on through the fine dining restaurant, wine cellar, Saturday Steak and events.
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For over 70 years, Huset has been at the heart of life here in Longyearbyen, and we are dedicated to ensuring this continues in this new chapter for this iconic building.
1960's & 70's
