Landlord is the problem Finma takes the keys from Bernese restaurateur - she still wants to open

Juliette Bülowius is fighting for her dream of opening her own restaurant in Bern, even though Finma has banned the opening. The young restaurateur is not giving up and plans to open her doors anyway.

Finma prohibits Juliette Bülowius from opening her new restaurant called Supernova in Bern. No, this is not a case of mistaken identity. However, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority has not initiated proceedings against the restaurateur, but against a group of companies that owns the building. The 26-year-old has concluded a sublease agreement with the group.

Bülowius has rented four floors at Schauplatzgasse 22 in Bern, where her gastro complex with restaurant, bar and social club is located.

She has been waiting six months to be able to open her business. Finma has taken the key away from her. But the restaurateur refuses to back down.

She has a spare key and will open her restaurant and serve guests tomorrow Friday. Bülowius is convinced that Finma has no right to keep her restaurant closed. Everything is ready for the first evening.

Bülowius has wanted to open for months

The difficulties with Finma began last September when Finma initiated enforcement proceedings against ten related companies, including the one that owns the property with Bülowius' restaurant. The purpose of such proceedings is to investigate possible violations of financial market law.

The persons concerned include the company directors Alexander and Madeleine Hübner, with whom Bülowius concluded her sublease agreement. She emphasizes that the contract is legal and has been reviewed by several lawyers. Finma, on the other hand, expressed concerns last week that the contract may have been concluded unlawfully.

Finma's intervention has serious consequences for Bülowius and her team. She spent six months preparing for the opening, but is now losing considerable sums of money every day. The staff planned for the business are also affected. Their livelihoods are at stake, says Bülowius. She has already missed the high-turnover Zibelemärit. Now she doesn't want to lose the income from the Advent season as well.

Unauthorized financial transactions

Whether Finma will prevent the restaurant from opening with the duplicate key remains to be seen when the time comes. In the case of some of the other companies affected, the authority has already relented and allowed them to resume operations.

Bülowius is also hoping for this concession.

Finma is accusing those responsible at the group of companies - its contractual partner - of offering financial products for which they do not have a license. According to information from the Financial Market Authority, the companies affected by the proceedings also did not have up-to-date accounts. Accordingly, the financial situation of the companies is unclear.

Supernova, the name of the Gastro complex, means the last bright flash of a star before it goes out. It is not known whether Juliette Bülowius is aware of this symbolism. She certainly didn't choose the name in the foresight that the first evening of her business would also be the last.

This article was created with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). All content created by AI is verified by the editorial team.