The Restaurant Zugerberg will temporarily close in two months

Chef Stefan Meier is giving up the operation of the Restaurant Zugerberg at the end of January 2022. Various reasons, including the re-construction work on the Zugerberg Funicular Railway, have led to this.

Stefan Meier, the chef of the Rathauskeller restaurant in the city of Zug, has also been running the Restaurant Zugerberg for the last ten years. "The actual cooking takes place in the city, and we them transport the food by car or train up to the Zugerberg," says the experienced star chef. "There, it is finished off and served by the four-member team." If a big banquet or an important event is taking place on the Zugerberg, the patron likes to stay and check that everything’s OK.

But not for much longer: Stefan Meier will give up the operation of the Restaurant Zugerberg at the end of January 2022.

"I will be retiring this year and I want to reduce my workload," he says, not without regret, because as he emphasizes, it always gave him a lot of pleasure to cook for the guests of the mountain restaurant, which was also very profitable. "Otherwise I certainly wouldn't have done it for so long."

Lower turnover expected
The decision of the Zugerberg Bahn AG to renew the tracks and to thereby discontinue the operation of the funicular railway during the next year has also contributed to his decision. Although a railway replacement bus will operate, he expects a reduction in business.

"If the mountain railway is not running, the frequency will be significantly lower."

Another reason is the retirement of Karl Helpferer, the business manager of the restaurant, in the coming year. "I would have had to look for a replacement for him and would have had to then familiarise the replacement with the restaurant. But I didn't want to do that anymore."

He has always maintained a very good cooperation with the owners of the restaurant, the Zugerberg Railway. "We are parting by mutual agreement," emphasizes Stefan Meier, although both sides regret this decision. "But, in life, you always have to make a cut at some time," he sums up.

Photo 1: ,Winter atmosphere around the Restaurant Zugerberg.
Photo 2: Commemorative picture at the reopening of the Restaurant Zugerberg 10 years ago. From left: Managing Director Karl Helpferer, tenant Stefan Meier and restaurateur Kuno Trevisan.
Pictures: Stefan Kaiser, (Zugerberg,

In business for almost 40 years
The celebrity chef will still work at his regular restaurant, the "Rathauskeller" in the city of Zug. "I will continue as long as I still like and enjoy cooking," says Stefan Meier, who has been working as a chef for over 50 years and will soon be celebrating his 40th anniversary in the "Rathauskeller".

"I have had this passion for my profession, which is also a vocation for me, since I was very young," he says. Because his parents ran a farm with a restaurant. "They gave me the necessary tools, and I recognised early on what was good and what wasn't." Because he is convinced that only those who like to eat can cook well.

"The quality of the food and roots in the region were, and are always important to me."

Stefan Meier hopes there will a good successor for the Restaurant Zugerberg. "I will be happy to support the owners in their search and introduction."

During the construction phase of the new railway line, the Zugerberg restaurant will be temporarily used by the Institut Montana, explains Karin Fröhlich, media spokeswoman for the Zugerberg Railway. "School rooms are being set up there. But the operation of the restaurant is to be resumed with a new tenant after completion of the construction work on the tracks."