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Uptown Updates

Bethany Bruner, Community Editor

A new restaurant, I Love Sushi, will open soon on South Poplar Street. City of Oxford Economic Development Director Alan Kyger said the opening will likely be in the next month. The restaurant will experiment with the concept of late-night sushi. 

A building permit has been submitted by the owners of Juniper to open a new store in Stewart Square. Kyger said the new store will be a different concept than Juniper, possibly widening the target age group. According to published reports, the store will be named Magnolia and is scheduled to open in April.

MOON Market has filed a building permit for the strip mall behind Little Caesar's on Locust Street. The market is anticipated to open in the spring.

Construction in the uptown area is more or less on schedule, according to Kyger. The construction in the old Balcony Bar building and the Dubois Bookstore construction are the furthest along. The location previously occupied by Coldstone Creamery and Qdoba is still on track to open in August as well.

Kyger said no tenants have been officially announced for the space between Chipotle and Fiesta Charra, but he believes Coldstone has expressed interest in returning. He said he had doubts about Qdoba's return due to the high volume of Mexican restaurants in that immediate area.

Kyger anticipates an announcement about tenants in the near future.

Darbar India's opening has been delayed due to some issues with the city permits, according to Kyger. Kyger said there were issues regarding the exhaust pipe the restaurant had installed in the alley next to The Smokin' Ox.

Kyger said once the issue is resolved, the restaurant will be close to opening.

Kyger also said the redevelopment of the old Wal-Mart location could be happening. He said the preliminary plans for the old building include 40,000 square feet of commercial space, but there had been some issues gaining loans for the space that put the project on hold.

Kyger said the developers would still need to go through the city because the project only has preliminary plans and would need a final approval before it moves forward.  


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