Plans have been unveiled for the opening of a cafe which will comprise of a coffee shop and wine bar.
NewGround coffee company, based in Headington, is moving into a unit in Ship Street, part of the former Russell & Bromley shoe shop.
Jericho Cheese Company opened a shop in another part of the unit in 2021 and Crosstown Oxford doughnut shop is also in the same row of shops.
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Joel Grates, director of NewGround, said: "NewGround is moving in.
"Our unit in the old Russell & Bromley will be our new flagship coffee shop and wine bar. We’re aiming for this to be one of Europe’s best coffee destinations.
"The site is covered in scaffolding until September, but we aim to open within two weeks."
NewGround said the new cafe would be a "coffee and wine bar offering high-grade, ethically sourced coffee from small-scale farms around the world" and a "wide selection of natural wines".
It added: "The new site will be located in a stunning listed building on an up-and-coming side street in the heart of Oxford city centre, building on the ever growing coffee scene in Oxford.
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"The NewGround Roastery in Headington will continue to roast and serve coffee to loyal customers, supply coffee shops worldwide and offer employment opportunities to ex-offenders from local prisons."
Ship Street is off Cornmarket and the arrival of the NewGround cafe is the latest boost to the area which has suffered from a number of empty retail units.
Adam Verlander, who runs Jericho Cheese Company, said landlords Jesus College, had made the right decision in splitting up the large Russell & Bromley unit.
He said at the time: "It was a pleasant surprise to find that landlord Jesus College was also reviewing its retail strategy in the city centre, ahead of the opening of its new Northgate development.
"It was a strategy which included exploring the opportunities for splitting a large Ship Street retail unit into smaller units that could open up the potential market to small-scale, independent stores, leading to a greater variety of retail uses in Ship Street.”
He added: “Ship Street is a small lane, but it’s just off Cornmarket, so it’s very close to people working, visiting and so on, who might be minded to buy some quality food.”
Cosy Club, a national chain of cocktail bars is soon to pen in a retail unit in the college's former Northgate House building, and The Store hotel, on the corner of Cornmarket and Broad Street, on the site of the former Boswells department store, is expected to open in the autumn.
The four-star boutique hotel will feature a rooftop terrace.
Ship Street also features No 1 Ship Street restaurant.
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Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here.
He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.
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