Restaurateurs are reinventing themselves

The economy is in a state of emergency. And the government of Zug is working on measures.

For small businesses and the self-employed, the current situation is a threat to their continued existence: From Tuesday, all restaurants, shops that do not sell groceries and those who cannot ensure a distance of two metres from customers have had to keep their doors closed. This is because the Federal Council declared an “extraordinary situation” on Monday. The measures are intended to slow down the spread of the corona virus Covid-19.

In order to keep the loss of sales as small as possible, restaurants are trying to keep afloat with take-away offers. "We are trying to at least cover the fixed costs," explains Erich Werder from the Rosengarten restaurant in Steinhausen. He has teamed up with Daniel Matzener from the Zur Linde restaurant in Rotkreuz, and the two now sell a range of lunches from a food truck at Chamerstrasse 32 in Steinhausen. "We are passionate cooks and therefore want to offer more than just fried food, sausages and bread," says Werder.

Like many other restaurateurs, he and Matzener have applied for short-time work for their staff. This should guarantee employees 80% of their wages. Yesterday, the Federal Council announced that short-time work for apprentices can now also be applied for. There should also be a solution for the owners, it said. The measures should come quickly. "As soon as our liquid funds are used up, it becomes precarious," continues Matzener. The two restaurateurs cannot yet quantify how big the damage will ultimately be. Erich Werder says: “Any help from the federal government, canton and municipality must come quickly and be as unbureaucratic as possible. The reserves won't last long.”

The economy is in a state of emergency. And the government of Zug is working on measures.

The Canton of Zug is also aware of this. The government council is therefore reviewing quick measures to support those affected, the finance directorate said this week. For example, the executive has decided to immediately pay all invoices that are received and not to wait until the payment deadlines. The administrative units are also encouraged to "respond in a helpful manner to inquiries from customers with corona-related payment difficulties, and to offer generous payment deadlines or instalment payment agreements as far as reasonable", says the corresponding message. The government plans to provide further information next Tuesday. Finance director Heinz Tännler assures that these are currently being developed. He could not say any more details, only this much: "The focus is on securing liquidity." He adds: "The situation is serious." The government council is therefore willing to spend substantial funds on emergency aid. According to the Tännler, there is no shortage of ideas on how the economy could be helped.

"The challenge is therefore not in the lack of ideas, but in helping quickly and effectively with the available resources, which were not designed for a crisis."

Some requests for short-time work have been received by the Office for Economy and Labour in the meantime, and the number increased exponentially this week: from Monday to Thursday there were a total of 984 applications, compared to only 50 in the previous week. And there is also a lot going on politically: the Alternative - the Greens, the FDP and individual parliamentarians have submitted proposals. The CVP Canton Zug, however, has decided to forego proposals in order not to place an additional burden on the government and administration, the cantonal party writes.

As it is not clear how long the current situation will last, the two Rotkreuz restaurateurs have added a new idea to their range: the Emergency Package. "Working together with local traders, we have put together a package for emergencies." As a joke, there is even a roll of toilet paper in it. "Even in these times, there should be room for a little humour," says Werder.