Owning her own shop in the US was a dream come true until Trump’s tariffs came along
Series Swiss entrepreneurs abroad,
Episode 9:
Jacqueline Judd seized the opportunity to own and run a shop selling Swiss products in New Glarus, Wisconsin. Shortly after opening, Trump’s tariffs took a toll on her inventory. With a great deal of patience and perseverance, she orders what is available – and waits for the rest.
Running her own business had always been Jacqueline Judd’s dream. When she emigrated, she had no idea that this dream would come true abroad. In 2007, the trained chef came across a job advert for a restaurant in New Glarus – a community of Swiss emigrants in the US state of Wisconsin. With little English but plenty of courage, she set off for the US.
New Glarus was founded in 1845 by emigrants from Glarus; the community, with a population of 2,300, is still proud of its Swiss roots today. The village centre is lined with chalet-style houses, and every year the Swiss Volksfest is celebrated – a sort of August 1 celebration that takes place at the Wilhelm Tell Shooting Park. Swiss German is rarely heard, says Judd on the phone. “But many can trace their family tree back through the generations to their ancestors in Switzerland,” she says.
In her job in a commercial kitchen, the differences compared to Switzerland became clear.
“They didn’t do the sort of cooking here that I’d learnt in Switzerland,” she says diplomatically. But she liked New Glarus, and it was during this time that she also met her future husband. When her visa expired, the young couple returned to Switzerland for a few years, where they got married.
The American Dream
In 2012, the couple emigrated to New Glarus. Judd found a job at a dog boarding kennel, where she was able to work her way up from the very bottom – from picking up dog poop all the way to manager of the kennel. She soon realised that she enjoyed interacting with the two-legged customers.
In 2016, she took up a new job in a souvenir shop selling Polish tableware. “There, too, I started as a sales assistant and ended up running the shop,” says Judd. Her desire to run her own business became more concrete, and an opportunity arose when Esther Zgraggen, a Swiss expat, wanted to give up her Swiss souvenir shop or Schwizerlädeli, as Judd calls it, in New Glarus.
Judd had known Zgraggen since her arrival in New Glarus, and taking over the business had long been on both their minds. But the right moment simply wouldn’t come. Judd now had two young children, then Covid-19 struck, and the shop became an online-only business.
But the takeover plan was never abandoned. Alongside her work in retail, Judd did everything she could to learn as much as possible about running a business. She took a course and had many discussions with her boss and mentor. She also emphasises how well equipped she was thanks to her Swiss education and work ethic.
“I thought long and hard about whether I wanted to take the plunge,” she says. Running a shop on her own means a lot of responsibility and less flexibility. When she officially took over the business in April 2025, she decided to reopen a physical shop.
Tariffs put a damper on business
Just a few months after taking the plunge into self-employment, American President Donald Trump threw a spanner in the works with his tariffs. It turned out that 2025 was certainly not an ideal year to open a shop specialising in imports.
The high tariffs meant that Judd could no longer get hold of her stock. “In September and October, my suppliers in Switzerland sent practically nothing at all,” she says. “That was brutal for me.”
Our series profiles Swiss men and women founding and building businesses abroad. Through their personal stories, we explore why they choose to pursue projects beyond Switzerland’s borders, the working conditions they encounter there, and the challenges and opportunities.
Through their life stories, this series also showcases how the Swiss Abroad community contributes to Switzerland’s economic, cultural, and political influence.
A period of uncertainty followed. Sometimes limited deliveries were possible, sometimes only via FedEx which cost three times as much and delivery times also became much longer. By the end of the year, the warehouse was empty. Judd only had what was left on the shelves in the shop. She hasn’t been able to restock significantly since then, and she’s waiting for various orders.
“There are items I know sell well, but I simply can’t get hold of them,” she says. Among them, for example, is a mug that’s very popular. Judd is therefore constantly checking what’s available – and then snapping it up. At the end of the year, she had just five magnets left; when they suddenly became available again, she ordered a huge quantity.
Life as a business owner has become more difficult in a short space of time than she’d originally imagined. “But I’m not giving up yet,” she says. She doesn’t run the shop just as a hobby either. She wants to pay herself a salary as early as this year.
You can’t do without a dirndl
The range at ‘Jackie’s Imports’ is extensive; many items are classic souvenirs that you’d also find in Swiss tourist spots, such as wooden cows and bells, alongside Swiss classics like the Appenzeller belt or tableware from the Langenthal brand.
Judd also stocks clothing, including edelweiss shirts and dirndls, a traditional dress of Alpine German-speaking regions. But surely those aren’t actually from Switzerland?
“You need a dirndl here,” she says with a laugh.
In New Glarus, people wear dirndls or lederhosen for traditional occasions like the Polka Festival in the American Swiss village. Alpine traditions blend seamlessly together in New Glarus.
The dirndls are selling very well, though there are people in the area who’d like something more Swiss. But a proper traditional costume is quite expensive, and unfortunately she doesn’t have that much space at the moment.
She has taken over much of the range from her predecessor, but has supplemented it with souvenirs from the local area. For example, the soaps from ‘Swiss Frau’External link, a farmer with Swiss roots who makes soap from the milk of her Swiss goats. Fondue pots and raclette grills are also available at the Swiss shop.
Judd has found a local herbal business whose raclette spice mix and fondue tea she now stocks. Customers will have to look elsewhere for the cheese, but that shouldn’t be a problem in Wisconsin, where more cheese is produced than in any other US state.
Customers with Swiss roots
As well as her local regulars, her clientele consists mainly of American tourists – with or without Swiss roots – who end up in New Glarus. “The number of Swiss tourists visiting the area has declined in recent years,” she notes. She ships goods from her online shop across the US to customers who are mostly of Swiss origin.
During the summer season, the shop is open from Tuesday to Sunday . On her day off, she catches up on administrative tasks. In winter, when things are quieter, she sometimes shuts shop on more days. The small-town atmosphere of New Glarus helps Judd to balance her work and private life more effectively. Her two school-age children can cycle to school.
Judd is also involved in several roles within the local community in New Glarus. Had this year’s production of the “Heidi” play not been cancelled due to a lack of participants, she would have taken part in that too. Judd and her family regularly meet up with other Swiss people for a German-speaking get-together in the local area. But she says that keeping Swiss traditions alive is hard work too.
She doesn’t know whether she’ll stay in the US for the rest of her life. America has fulfilled her dreams – from the dog she’d always wanted, a family, right through to her own shop. Living so far from home, her connection to Switzerland is important – indeed, essential. “It means a lot to me that people here know I’m from Switzerland – and not from Sweden.”
Edited by Balz Rigendinger. Translated from German, sub-edited by Anand Chandrasekhar
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