BUSY board game cafe Thirsty Meeples is planning to move to the former Fopp music store in Gloucester Green so it has more space for tables.
At the beginning of last year Canadian entrepreneur Doug Putman bought the HMV chain, featuring Fopp, out of administration, saving 100 stores including a number of Fopp branches.
But he chose not to save Fopp in Oxford and it closed.
Now Thirsty Meeples is set to move in there from its current Gloucester Green base.
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Marc Hanson, who is one of the managers, said: “We are hoping to make the move by the end of the month - it should give us about twice the room we have now.
“That will be really useful - at the moment there are times when we get fully booked and we have to tell customers to come back later.”
Thirsty Meeples was the first board game cafe in England when it opened in 2013.
It followed the Games Hub in Edinburgh which opened in 2012 and there are now a series of board game cafes across the UK.
Ed Richards, associate director at NewRiver said: “We are delighted to enable Thirsty Meeples to expand and upsize into the former FOPP site, marking the successful growth of a local Oxford operator in this community shopping hub. We have a number of units available to let in Gloucester Green and we’re pleased to say we are in discussions with various operators and hope to be able to share news of these as they progress in 2020."
While markets at Gloucester Green, run by LSD Promotions and the city council, have attracted plenty of footfall, it has taken a long time to fill empty retail units, run by real estate investment trust NewRiver.
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Keith Atkin, duty manager of Gloucester Green markets, said: “Fopp has been boarded up for so long it is starting to become an eyesore - I would like to see the unit let as soon as possible.
“I heard the board game cafe Thirsty Meeples is going to move there because it’s a bigger unit than the one they have got and they would have more space for tables.
“The unit which was occupied by Noodle Nation is also quite large and needs filling.
“I know NewRiver advertise a lot to get the units filled but it takes a long time finding new businesses to come in.”
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Mr Atkin said he was pleased to see new signs going up on a new Japanese restaurant run by Als Gongcha, which opened a Taiwanese food and bubble tea store next door last year.
He added: “That’s positive and they will be opening the new restaurant soon.”
Last year a Friday market was added to markets running Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.
The markets feature stalls selling clothes, antiques and old vinyl, combined with a large number of street food stalls.
Mr Atkin added: “We are going to keep the Friday market going - it does take a while for these new markets to get going but the Friday one is getting busier - we are definitely going to keep it running.
“We are also talking to the Old Fire Station about the possibility of different kinds of performances being staged at Gloucester Green.”
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Letting agents for NewRiver said the former Fopp premises was under offer.
He added that new tenants were being sought for the former Noodle Nation premises.
The restaurant closed last year and for months rough sleepers used the doorways of some empty units to shelter under.
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