FOUR years ago there were celebrations among parents in Summertown when Barefoot Books opened in Banbury Road.

The bookshop in a former bathroom store became a favourite place for mums and dads to meet up for a coffee while their toddlers played and learned to read.

But Barefoot Books’ stay on Banbury Road has now reached an unhappy ending after managers announced that the store, staffed by about 20 full and part-time employees, is to close on Sunday, December 6.

Co-founder Tessa Strickland said: “We have been telling our customers the news and they are upset – some small children have been in tears.”

Customer Maria Guagnin said her son Benjamin enjoyed visiting the store and added: “I’m really sad it is closing because we love the cafe.”

Mother-of-three Mrs Strickland is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Barefoot Books, an international publishing company which also has offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States.

The business was founded in 1993, has produced 250 titles to date, and will continue to trade.

Mrs Strickland, who has a home near Bath, added: “ The bookshop itself has been popular and we really appreciate the support we have had while we have been here.

“It’s a shame for local families with young children that we are going but it’s a big space to rent, is expensive, and there is a break in our lease.”

Mrs Strickland added that the ‘studio’ element of the business – the bookshop, cafe, and associated events and activities – was “time-consuming and a distraction” from publishing books and working with authors and illustrators.

The shop’s studio manager Izzy Martin, 32, from Fyfield, near Abingdon, said: “We make the books upstairs and sell the books downstairs.

“It has been an ideal place for families with young children to come – a great community space.”