The doors of the Brauschüür in Zollbrück are closed for now: Mein Emmental AG was declared bankrupt on July 15, 2026. The brewery, bar and event venue have stopped operating, and the company is now officially registered as “Mein Emmental AG in Liquidation.”
The collapse followed months of attempts to stabilize the business. In June, the company informed its more than 1,200 shareholders that its auditor no longer considered continued operations secure. The board subsequently presented the Regional Court with a restructuring concept that included raising additional liquidity, cutting costs and making structural changes. However, the court considered the measures insufficient and rejected the application for a debt-restructuring moratorium, removing the possibility of continuing the turnaround under creditor protection.
The company later acknowledged that, despite examining several options and implementing parts of its stabilization plan, it had been unable to find a viable solution that would allow operations to continue immediately. The board has appealed the bankruptcy ruling to the Higher Court and requested that the decision be suspended while the appeal is considered.
A central part of the proposed rescue is the lease of the Brauschüür to an external operator who has already been identified. The arrangement would transfer much of the financial risk associated with the bar, restaurant and event business to the new tenant, while providing regular rental income that could be used to repay debts. According to founder and board member Eveline Locher, the venue could reopen immediately under the new operator if the court grants the requested extension. A rejection would probably mean the definitive end of the brewery.
All six remaining part-time employees have already been dismissed. The company reportedly employed eleven people in 2023 across brewing, sales, the shop, hospitality and events, indicating that its workforce had already been reduced before the bankruptcy proceedings began.
The financial problems had accumulated over several years. Revenue reached approximately CHF 952,000 (USD 1.16 million) in 2024, while the company recorded a loss of around CHF 150,000 (USD 183,000). Its cumulative losses had grown to more than CHF 500,000 (USD 611,000). The business remained in the red in 2025, although the deficit was reportedly smaller and no detailed figures were disclosed.
Management attributed the decline primarily to falling beer consumption and the continuing weakness of the hospitality sector following the pandemic. The combination was particularly damaging because the business relied not only on beer sales but also on visitors to its bar, beer garden, events and brewery experiences.
Mein Emmental AG was established in 2017, with the Brauschüür opening in a converted barn one year later. Public figures put annual brewing capacity or output at approximately 800–1,000 hl, equivalent to 80,000–100,000 litres. This placed the company firmly within the microbrewery segment rather than among Switzerland’s larger regional brewers. It produced a broad selection of craft beer specialities in Zollbrück, while some lager products were reportedly contract-brewed by Brauerei Locher AG.
The brewery’s ownership structure was unusual for such a small producer. More than 1,200 predominantly small shareholders supported the company, which had registered share capital of CHF 652,500 (USD 797,000). This broad local backing helped turn the Brauschüür into a regional meeting place, but was ultimately unable to compensate for the prolonged operating losses and weakening demand.
