Big plans for "Trichti" Will Zurich's traditional restaurant soon become a country inn with a rope park?

In Zollikon ZH, voters will decide whether the municipality should support the traditional "Trichti" restaurant. If the bill passes, the leaseholder has big visions in mind.

The future of the Trichtenhausermühle restaurant in Zollikon ZH has been a political issue for almost a year and a half. Now the municipal council has decided to support the "Trichti" with a maximum of 1.5 million francs, as reported by the "Zürichsee-Zeitung".

Originally, the owners wanted to convert the traditional pub into an apartment building, and planning permission has already been granted. The Zollikerberg neighborhood association has opposed this with an individual initiative. The aim: to preserve the restaurant for the general public.

The voters approved the initiative just under a year ago. Since then, the restaurant has been temporarily used by a new tenant couple.

The history of the building goes back to the year 946. For centuries, it was a watermill in Zollikerberg on the Wehrenbach, which forms the border with the city of Zurich. In the course of the 19th century, a restaurant was added.

Agreement for 30 years

The proposal now presented by the municipal council is linked to the operation of the restaurant and dining hall for a further three decades. "We would pay out half of the amount, i.e. 750,000 francs, once a legally binding building permit has been granted," says municipal councillor Patrick Dümmler to the Zürichsee-Zeitung. The owner family Heer would be able to carry out a complete renovation with the grant.

The remaining amount will be paid out in the amount of CHF 25,000 per year for 30 years - "as long as the restaurant is in operation", says Dümmler. Failure to comply with this agreement would result in the family having to make a partial repayment to the municipality.

Deion Impallomeni-Heer, representative of the owner family, sees the municipal council's decision as "fundamentally positive". The support of the municipality would minimize the risk - and open up new possibilities: "We can also imagine setting up a country inn."

Rope park and petting zoo

The current tenant's vision includes a combination of overnight accommodation, a restaurant with a banqueting hall, a garden pub, a rope park and animals for families with small children. The plans will only become concrete if the population approves the proposal.

The vote will take place on December 4. The municipal council recommends a yes vote, but is also critical: "Voters must ask themselves whether it is the core task of a municipality to support a restaurant." The financial support could understandably also arouse the desires of other restaurateurs. But the measure is also a response to the wishes of the population.