40 | Issue 115 | August 2018
Scan Magazine | Culinary Feature | Copenhagen Street Food Reffen
Previously limited to the classic hotdog stand, street food has taken Denmark by
storm, thanks to a wave of innovative, hip concepts. From gourmet pop-up stands, to
music, art, innovation, and food from all over the world, Scan Magazine takes a look
at three of the nation’s recently opened street-food markets.
By Signe Hansen
In May 2014, seven food trucks in an
empty warehouse marked the opening
of Copenhagen Street Food on Papirøen
(the Paper Island). Behind the market
was the Julian Group, a team of dedicat-
ed food enthusiasts led by restaurateur
Jesper Møller. “Copenhagen didn’t have
a street-food market in the way most
other cities had. We had a lot of beautiful
restaurants and then there was the tradi-
tional hotdog stand, but something in be-
tween was missing,” says Møller. “That’s
why we decided to create a street-food
market that was unpretentious, cheer-
ful and cheap, both for the vendors and
visitors. We wanted a market with a va-
riety of international food, and we want-
ed it to be affordable for everyone to eat
there and to run a stand. It was also a
way of embracing the start-up scene inInnovation and hygge
- street food the Danish way
Copenhagen and of giving entrepreneurs
a chance to build up skills and experi-
ence before opening up on their own.”In 2017, after four successful years and
1.5 million visitors, Copenhagen Street
Food on the Paper Island closed down. In
May this year, the team behind it launched
Reffen on Refshaleøen. This time, the
scale was somewhat different, with 54
start-ups in the form of food stalls, bars,
and creative workshops, open all year.Odense’s street food Mecca
Inspired by the new buzz of the capital’s
street-food scene, in 2017, Julian Group
established Odense Street Food in StormsLocated in a beautiful old warehouse in Odense, Storms Pakhus offers a variety
of food experiences, as well as events and creative stalls. Photo: Julian Group PR