Hitting the Oven: Discher Bakery Bids Farewell
Unnecessary bureaucracy hinders bakery product distribution
Share on WhatsApp Share on Facebook Share on Short Message Service X Share via Email
A looming goodbye to traditional baking as Discher bakery shuts its doors, leaving a piece of Ohringen's baking heritage behind.
Baking isn't just a profession for Andreas Discher; it's a passion, a religion, he claims. Yet, despite his dedication to the craft, he has plans to close all his four businesses in Ohringing, Langenbrettach, and Gochsen by the end of August. Why? Bureaucracy and staff shortages have taken their toll. Around 50 jobs are at stake.
With flour-dusted aprons and steamy ovens in the background, Discher shares his heartfelt pursuit of the dough. His moves are precise, even though he rarely gets to practice them nowadays. His decades-long journey as a baker's apprentice began back in 1990, and since then, he's been a passionate craftsman.
Clad in stacks of forms and folders, his office—not the ovens—has become his primary workspace these days. "The current framework conditions have become unbearable," he laments. Governing regulations can be a headache, especially a recent packaging law and safety measures for imported coffee beans, which he is compelled to comply with, despite never setting foot on a coffee plantation.
Bureaucracy: The Unseen Obstacle
Before the shutdown, Discher stood for traditional craftsmanship and continuity in Ohringen, carrying on the family business that dates back to 1904 when he took over the businesses of the legendary baker master Adolf Hammel in 2008. The closure is a distressing loss for regular customers, who consider the bakery as a cultural loss.
Recruiting young talent for the baking trade is challenging, and long-standing employees leaving leads to a dip in quality. "I am a baker, not an administrator," Discher sums up the predicament.
The Future Unwritten
Post-closure, the Discher family's future remains uncertain. Discher plans an extended break, and offers ranging from product development to business consultancy or even returning to a bakery have crossed his path. "My wife and I are still young; we'd like to do something else," explains the 53-year-old.
Bureaucratic pressures may have contributed to Discher's bakery's closure, making operation financially and operationally unsustainable. Small bakeries like Discher often struggle with costly regulatory compliance, administrative burdens, financial strain, inflexibility, and barriers to scaling as a result of excessive bureaucracy. Unfortunately, specific case studies or documentation on Discher's bakery closure or impact of bureaucracy are lacking. Exploring secondary sources or reports on small business bureaucracy impacts may reveal further insights. If you prefer, I can guide you through such resources. Let me know!
- The closure of Discher bakery, a small-business in Ohringen, is due to unbearable bureaucracy and staff shortages, leading to the potential loss of around 50 jobs.
- Bureaucratic pressures can make small-businesses financially and operationally unsustainable, as demonstrated by Discher's bakery, where regulatory compliance, administrative burdens, and excessive red tape have contributed to its closure.
