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Oxford Diner to relocate uptown

The Christian family enjoys lunch at Oxford Diner  Wednesday afternoon. The local eatery is relocating uptown.
The Christian family enjoys lunch at Oxford Diner Wednesday afternoon. The local eatery is relocating uptown.

Melissa Tacchi, Senior Staff Writer

The Christian family enjoys lunch at Oxford Diner Wednesday afternoon. The local eatery is relocating uptown. (CAROLINE BUCK | The Miami Student)

Recent increases in construction and business rearrangements in uptown Oxford have led the Oxford Diner to relocate from its current address on College Corner Pike to a popular High Street storefront at 19 W. High St.

In hopes of having the restaurant up and running by the second week in November, the diner's owner, John Anderson, has signed the lease for the former Fiesta Charra location.

"Location! Location! Location!" Anderson said. "It is true for real estate and it is true for business that location is key to success and is the reason for our move. We would like to minimize the distance to our customers by relocating into this higher traffic area."

The 24-hour establishment, which will be under a different name, will not only be serving the breakfast, lunch and dinner delicacies currently on its menu, but a variety of ice cream sundaes as well, according to Anderson.

Prior to his ownership of the Oxford Diner, Anderson ran a Friendly's and has the intention of incorporating the ice cream aspect into the diner. Additionally, the new diner will be mimicking the old one in that it will be completely wireless.

"I am personally looking forward to the relocation of the Oxford Diner because I think that it will bring more diversity to the uptown restaurants," Miami University junior Victoria Minette said. "We already have a few Chinese restaurants and an Indian restaurant, but we don't really have a restaurant that serves breakfast food, let alone any food for 24 hours a day."

Just before the relinquishing of the restaurant property to Oxford Diner, an authentic Lebanese cuisine restaurant called Arabian Nights had all but moved in to the site with the intention of opening in August, according to Alan Kyger, Oxford's economic development director.

"Unfortunately the couple who originally hoped to open at the site thought the terms or conditions of the lease would be of a certain nature, but when it came time to sign, things changed," Kyger said.

While the supposed restaurant owners, Sarrah and Michael Tyree, agree the change in plans was unfortunate, they do not wish to reveal the particular details of the lease that prevented them from opening at that particular location.

"We are still interested in finding a place where we can open our restaurant on High Street," Michael Tyree said. "Specifically, we have been looking into buildings that will allow for us to establish our restaurant on the first floor, but as of right now this is just a concept without even architectural drawings."

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According to Kyger, approximately 95 percent of uptown business sites are currently occupied, representing the fullest it has been in at least 10 years. A majority of these occupancies are restaurants and entertainment based sites that have been increasing in number since 2007.

"The businesses that have been recently moving or reconstructing in the uptown area are doing so with the student and walking trade in mind," Kyger said. "Owners are depending on the fact that the student clientele is not going to stop frequenting uptown due to a lack of parking."