Contractors working to create a new Waterstones store in Oxford say it could be ready to open next month.
The bookshop chain was at Grade II-listed William Baker House on the corner of Cornmarket Street and Broad Street from 1998 until its closure in June.
Waterstones announced in March it was closing and moving to a new premises in Queen Street in a unit previously occupied by the Topman clothing chain.
READ MORE: Shoppers are in favour of a new M&S foodhall
Signs have gone up outside the Queen Street unit saying the new bookstore and cafe is coming soon.
Waterstones' head office said earlier it expected the new store would be ready to open in September but then announced there had been a delay.
A spokesman for the chain did not provide an expected opening date but contractors working on site said today - Thursday - a November opening is possible.
A Waterstones sign in Queen Street(Image: Andy Ffrench)
He added that the bookstore would occupy the ground floor and basement, with a cafe in the basement.
A spokeswoman for Waterstones said earlier: "Our shopfitting team are now on site and work on the new bookshop is progressing well.
"Queen Street is shaping up to be a really exciting opening for us ahead of the busy Christmas shopping season.
"All our bookshelves and fixtures are bespoke to us and carefully fitted in each individual shop."
It was the end of an era for bookselling at five-storey William Baker House as Dillon's ran a bookshop there from 1987 until Waterstones took over.
All Waterstones' booksellers are to be redeployed at the new store.
In 2022, historic Oxford book chain Blackwell's was bought by its high street rival Waterstones.
Blackwell's, which has its flagship store in Broad Street and a total of 18 bookshops, was put up for sale after its owners abandoned a plan to hand it to employees.
Following Waterstones' move, William Baker House looks set to become a centre for Harry Potter.
A contractor on site said following the book chain's departure: "Warner Brothers are bringing in their structural engineers.
"It won't be ready to open for about a year. Part of it will be a shop."
The worker said at the time the movie company would be creating a Harry Potter-themed centre but could not provide further details.
Warner Bros has been asked to comment. The company runs a studio tour in London close to Watford Junction called The Making of Harry Potter.
There are already well-established Harry Potter stores in Cornmarket Street.
Wizard's Emporium opened next to the former McDonald's last year, while House of Wonders opened at the other end of the street in 2020.
Waterstones also has bookstores in Witney, Didcot and Banbury.