A POPULAR restaurant in Oxford has closed once again - less than two weeks after it reopened.

Japanese eatery Edamame that is based on Holywell Street finally reopened on October 7 after a seven-months closure due to the Covid-19 crisis.

But owner Peter Galpin revealed the restaurant will once again shut for the 'foreseeable future' from today after concerns over Covid-19 spread in the 'small and confined' premises od Edamame.

In a heartfelt post on Facebook Mr Galpin announced the decision yesterday and explained the reasons behind it: "Whilst we feel extremely happy to witness Edamame being brought back to life, buzzing again with lively conversation, we have an ever present concern that by assembling guests in our small and confined premises we could inadvertently spread the virus further, putting our guests and my staff at risk.

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"The local and national situations continue to deteriorate and with winter approaching it just does not feel right to stay open at this time."

Mr Galpin added he hopes to bring Edamame out of its 'hibernation' once it is safe to reopen.

In preparation for their recent reopening at the beginning of October the owner introduced a number of changes to make dining at Edamame safer.

These included reduced seating capacity, temperature checks of guests at the door and a new table booking system to avoid queues forming at the door and in the hallway.