First Naked Bar and Restaurant Coming to Switzerland Later This Month

(TMU) — Being naked in public in Switzerland isn’t illegal so long as the person choosing to go clothes free isn’t being indecent or disorderly in doing so.

The absence of laws on the books banning things like being naked in public can lead to some pretty freeing, enjoyable, unusual, and downright strange things such as Zurich’s Body and Freedom Festival that features naked actors performing on crowded city streets.

The city of Basel is expected to see another such thing, perhaps freeing to some and quite strange to others, later this month in the form of a clothing free restaurant.

Both customers and staff will be clothes free in the establishment, though the jury is still out on whether or not the bouncer, who will be outside, will be clothed. The cloakroom inside the unique establishment will serve the purpose of collecting clothes upon entry more than it will coats.

According to BZ – Zeitung für die Region Basel, the same location hosted the city of Basel’s first gay bar back in 1974. The popular restaurant had it’s heyday in the 1990s but it went downhill after the advent of the online dating scene, according to historian Peter Thommen. “Elle et Lui” ultimately closed in the summer of 2019 after a fire.

While the restaurant is still without a name, it is scheduled to open at the end of this month. According to the owner, staff is already working and the menu is already set.

Sure, some patrons will visit the establishment for the novelty of eating in a room full of naked strangers but others might frequent the place because they enjoy the hearty home-style cooking. The owner, who is simply going by Deigo, says Wiener Schnitzel and potato salad will be at the top of the menu.

According to BZ – Zeitung für die Region Basel, it is “unclear how big the demand for a nudist restaurant actually is.” But regardless of a potential lack of demand for such an establishment, Deigo appears excited and isn’t worried about population of Basel that might err on the shy side—they can always leave their underwear on.

Other countries have experimented but failed in the naked restaurant business. Will Switzerland finally be the one to succeed?

By Emma Fiala | Creative Commons | TheMindUnleashed.com