KuPP, the Scandinavian restaurant on the top floor of John Lewis at Westgate, has closed for good and will not reopen.

In 2018 a year after the Westgate Centre reopened following a £440m makeover there was talk of 'Scandi-cool' when the chain opened its new branch.

Managing director Steve Cox said at the time he was thrilled to be opening the doors of the fourth KuPP venue.

But the coronavirus lockdowns hit footfall and the chain has decided it is no longer viable.

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It is not yet known if a different restaurant chain will replace KuPP at John Lewis - the city's only remaining department store.

Oxford Mail:

A spokeswoman for John Lewis said: "KuPP was run by a separate business that was leasing this space from us before the pandemic.

"We're looking at options and aren't able to share anything further at this stage but we can certainly keep you updated.

"KuPP is no longer leasing our premises."

Mr Cox said after opening: "Partnering with John Lewis on KuPP Oxford made perfect sense; they have championed Scandinavian design for many years and that’s exactly what we’ve set out to do with food and drink!

"KuPP reflects everything we love about the Nordic region with a nod to Scandi design.

Oxford Mail:

"The menu showcases our versions of some of the amazing dishes we’ve tried on our travels and traditional Nordic cooking techniques such as pickling, curing and smoking.

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"We serve Scandi dishes like Beetroot Stained Gravadlax or KuPP’s Signature House Smoked Meatballs alongside more familiar favourites like the Mighty KuPP Klub (come hungry!) and our Proper Pork Sausage Swede Dog."

While KuPP is gone for good there is still hope that Westgate's Danish bakery Ole & Steen could, at some point, reopen.

Oxford Mail:

Its tasty pastries are much missed by shoppers.

A statement on its website said earlier: "Like many hospitality businesses at the moment, we are doing all we can to keep customers safe - as well as opening up as many of our sites as possible for takeaway, delivery and Click & Collect.

"As I’m sure our customers can appreciate, there are a number of variables that we have to consider before we reopen a location to ensure that it is not only safe, but also to guarantee the future health of the business.

"Sadly, we have been unable to open our Oxford store since the first lockdown.

"We understand how disappointing this has been for the patrons of our Oxford store and we are very sad to not be serving our Oxford friends during this time.

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"Please be assured that it remains our intention to reopen Oxford as soon as we can, although we cannot currently set a date for this. We would like to thank our Oxford customers for their patience, and we look forward, in time, to welcoming you back."