Knox Shopping Centre: Westfield Knox food court riddled with empty shops

The Knox Westfield food court has been described as a “disaster” with the majority of restaurants closed, turning it into a ghost town.

Westfield Knox food court.

The Westfield Knox food court remains a ghost town, with more than half of the outlets closed or boarded up.

This comes as the long awaited redevelopment plans, previously announced by Scentre Group, won’t start until later this year.

Presently only eight of the 18 restaurants in the food court are still open, including Hungry Jacks, KFC and Subway.

Shoppers on the Knox Leader Facebook page said the food court needed “a huge upgrade” with Jan Douglas describing the area as “a disaster”.

A Westfield Knox spokesperson previously told Leader: “Our food court remains an important part of our dining offer here at Westfield Knox.”

The spokeperson said: “In December, we welcomed Soul Origin to the precinct and KFC and Subway also completed their store upgrades before Christmas.”

Sandwich Chefs was closed when Leader visited at 7pm on Thursday, May 6.

“In December, Westfield Knox also introduced Ozone Park to customers, a COVID-Safe pop-up, outdoor dining and entertainment precinct on Melbourne St.”

Meanwhile the future of popular Lou Lou bar and nightclub in Knox Ozone is also unclear, with the venue still listed as “temporarily” closed on the centre’s website.

It follows the closure of the Knox Irish pub, with Urban Alley Brewery set to open in its place.

And after more than 40 years, the Myer store at Westfield Knox will close in July, with the owners of the Myer Coffee Lounge, also facing an uncertain future.

Woolworths is set to replace Myer, with plans for the supermarket to open on level one of the current Myer store next year.

Myer is closing after more than 40 years at Westfield Knox.

Shoppers remain desperate for the long-awaited upgrade of Westfield Knox, with more than 1000 people expressing their desire for new stores on Knox Leader’s Facebook page.

Big W, Aldi, Spotlight, H&M, Mecca, David Jones, Uniqlo, Zara, Sephora, Lush, Mimco, Foot Locker and a deli were among the new store suggestions.

Others pleaded for no more massage parlours or nail salons.

“Adding anything at this point would be a definite improvement,” Karlee Code said.

“It’s such a depressing place to shop, which is a shame – I tend to drive past it to go elsewhere these days, there are so many better centres around.”

Leader understands that Aldi has not yet made a decision about opening a store at Westfield Knox while there are no plans to open a BIG W store at the centre at this stage.

A Woolworths spokesperson said it was very excited about the opportunity to deliver an exciting new state-of-the-art supermarket at Knox.

“With a strong emphasis on fresh and convenient options for local residents, the new Woolworths Knox store will mark the next evolution in our journey to create a modern and contemporary neighbourhood supermarket,” the spokesperson said.

“We look forward to welcoming customers into our new store and will update the local community on our timeline in the coming months.”

Scentre Group’s director of development Stewart White previously told Leader Myer’s closure announcement would enable it to accelerate its redevelopment plans for Westfield Knox, subject to the relevant approvals.

“We had anticipated commencing our redevelopment in September 2021 by introducing a new Woolworths supermarket onto level 1 of the current Myer store in late 2022.

“The new Woolworths will anchor a new fresh food market and a new food catering concept, also on level 1 of the centre.

“All required development approvals are in place.

“Further, (the Myer) announcement will accelerate our future plans for Level 2 of the centre.

“We have a great track record in repurposing department stores and right sizing to deliver the best customer outcomes.”

Follow Knox Leader on Facebook to keep up to date with other local stories.