End of an era Traditional Zurich café has to close for good after 102 years

After 102 years, an era is coming to an end in Zurich. The traditional Café Bauer has to close for good. Declining sales are the death knell for the meeting place.

After 102 years, the traditional Café Bauer on Albisriederplatz in Zurich is closing its doors at the end of August.

According to a notice displayed at the entrance, the owners very much regret this step and would like to thank their customers for their many years of loyalty. Café Bauer has been an integral part of the neighborhood since 1922, serving coffee, croissants and strawberry tarts over the years.

But times have changed. As tsüri.ch reports, the café is now facing growing challenges, including rising fixed costs and increasing competitive pressure. "Unfortunately, the business environment has changed a lot in recent years," explains Dominique Widmer from Suan Long Enge AG, which has been running the café since 2015. In particular, the opening of another bakery on Albisriederplatz has noticeably reduced turnover.

"Loss of a normal place"

Around ten years ago, Café Bauer was already on the brink of closing when it was no longer financially viable and the Beck family had to sell the business. At that time, the café was taken over by Suan Long Enge AG, and it was initially possible to keep the restaurant alive. But now the era is finally coming to an end.

The location will be retained by Suan Long, but with a "new holistic Asian concept" that will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner. Most of the employees can be kept on, but not all - nine production and sales staff are losing their jobs.

For many people in the neighborhood, the closure of the café means the loss of a "normal place", as one long-standing customer told tsüri.ch. "The Bauer is not a cool place. It's just a normal café where a cross-section of the city's population comes together," says the customer. There aren't many places like this left in Zurich.