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Turl Street Kitchen colonises Barclays

Turl St Kitchen hope to open a new takeaway service opposite the main site, in the former Barclays bank premises.

The proposed ‘Turl Street Pantry’ would serve as a bakery, serving takeaway sandwiches and coffee as well as bread and other goods. It would use “freshly made, healthy, locally sourced” and “ethical” food.

The planning application states the enterprise aims to bring “what is now a dreary corner of Turl Street back to life with a vibrant café space.” The proposed development follows the closure of Blackwell’s Music store on Turl Street, which moved into the nearby Blackwell’s on Broad Street.

Turl Street itself is used by around two thousand people per hour and the application claims: “If we can bring just three per cent of the average daily footfall in Turl Street through our doors, we could be one of Oxford’s busiest cafes.

“Serving around five hundred people daily, Turl Street Kitchen demonstrates this demand.”

Turl Street Kitchen was opened in 2011 to support the Student Hub charity, and employs twenty five people. It is hoped that the proposed expansion would lead to 8 more jobs.

Josh Powell, the President of Oxford Hub, said, “Both the TSK and the Turl Street Pantry will be part of Hub Commercial Ventures CIC and so the profits will initially go back to Student Hubs. However, ultimately some of these profits will cover Oxford Hub core costs, reducing our need to spend a lot of time chasing trusts and foundations. Clearly, in the current economic climate a further move towards long-term financial sustainability is highly welcome since income from trusts and foundations is uncertain.

One student said, “I think it’s a really great idea, although I do think the area around Broad Street already has a lot of sandwhich shops. Hopefully there will be a high demand, and the prices will be student friendly. TSK itself is a great venture and I think loads of students would be keen to get good, healthy food, all while supporting the Hub.”

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