Nordreisa's First Remote-Operated Shop: Snarkjøp at Havnnes Is Open 8 am to 11 pm Every Day

Snarkjøp Giævers Landhandel at Havnnes Handelssted is the first remote-operated shop in Nordreisa. It opens every day from 8 am to 11 pm, staffed during the day and remotely operated in the evening. Residents of Uløya, boaters on the Lyngenfjord and visitors from Lyngen, Nordreisa and Skjervøy can therefore buy groceries late into the evening, whether they arrive by car on the ferry from Rotsund or by boat.

A grocery shop in Nordreisa open from 8 am to 11 pm

During the day the shop is staffed as before. In the evening it moves to remote operation, so customers can shop as normal after the staff have left for the day. The same hours apply seven days a week. For people returning late from work, fishers coming in during the evening and guests arriving on the last ferry, the shop is open when they need it.

Evening shopping in the remote-operated shop

Evening shopping follows four steps:

• Unlock the door by holding your bank card, or your phone with Apple Pay or a similar wallet, against the terminal at the entrance.

• Shop as normal.

• Pay at the self-service checkout.

• If you need help, or are buying age-restricted goods, an operator assists over two-way audio and video.

The system is supplied by Liberty Now for the Snarkjøp chain. It is already in operation in a number of village shops across Norway.

Arrival by car from Lyngen, Nordreisa and Skjervøy

Havnnes lies on the island of Uløya in Nordreisa municipality, ten minutes by ferry from Rotsund on the E6. From Storslett, Sørkjosen and Skjervøy, drive to the ferry quay at Rotsund. From Lyngen, take the Lyngseidet–Olderdalen ferry and follow the E6 north to Rotsund. Ferry route 198 runs between Rotsund, Havnnes and Uløybukt. Check the timetable at Svipper before you set off, particularly if you plan to shop late and return the same evening.

Customers may park free of charge in front of the shop for up to three hours. Long-stay parking and other rules are set out on the parking page.

Arrival by boat at the guest quay on the Lyngenfjord

Havnnes has always been a place people reach from the sea, and the trading post at the outer end of the Lyngenfjord is a natural stop for boats travelling between Lyngen, Skjervøy and Nordreisa. A new floating dock has been installed, and the timber quay has a new deck and new foundations. The outer side of the floating dock serves as a guest quay when space is available; the berths are private. Day visits are free of charge, and the trading post also sells fuel (98 unleaded petrol and off-road diesel).

Contact the trading post before arrival on +47 777 64 400 or at office@giaever.net for up-to-date information on capacity. Prices and rules are on the guest harbour page and in the post about the new floating dock.

A wider range at prices in line with the large chains

The shop is now part of the Snarkjøp chain. Better purchasing terms have reduced prices considerably, and they now sit in line with the larger Norwegian supermarket chains. The range has also been widened substantially, so a full week of self-catering can be bought on site:

• Fresh food: milk, eggs, butter, cheese, yoghurt and cold cuts

• Vegetables: peppers, onions, potatoes and salad

• Freezer: a much larger selection, including frozen vegetables, ready meals, meat, fish, pizza and bread

• Drinks and snacks: sparkling water, soft drinks in 1.5-litre bottles, ice cream, and sweet and savoury snacks

• Fishing tackle, gifts and souvenirs

  
  

Pre-orders for guests staying at Havnnes

If you are renting one of the houses at Havnnes, almost anything can be ordered in advance and be waiting in the house on arrival, at no extra cost. Send your order to booking@giaever.net at least two weeks before arrival. The arrangement suits groups arriving late in the evening, and special requests.

A trading post with roots in 1795

Havnnes is the northernmost preserved trading post still in operation in Norway, and trade here goes back to a royal licence granted in 1795. The Giæver family has run the post since 1868, and the shop building has been in use since 1916. Remote evening opening answers a practical question: how the island keeps its shop in the years ahead.

'When we took over, the question was how to make sure there is still a shop at Havnnes twenty years from now. The answer is not to run it exactly as before, but to use new technology to keep the doors open for longer,' says Thorvald H. Giæver, Managing Director of Johs. H. Giæver AS.

The shop depends on volume. How often fresh goods can be brought in, how little has to be thrown away, and whether a shop this far out is viable at all follow from how much is bought over the counter. The shop is also the infrastructure that allows people to live on Uløya, and one of the last meeting places on the island.

'People come in at times when they previously had no alternative, and they say it is good not to have to plan the day around the shop's opening hours,' says Hege Bergfald Jakobsen, shop manager at Snarkjøp Giævers Landhandel.

Snarkjøp Giævers Landhandel is at Mor Lyngs Plass 1, 9159 Havnnes, and is open from 8 am to 11 pm every day. Read more about the shop, plan your journey with the ferry and parking information, or book one of the houses and stay a few days on the Lyngenfjord.