Lula Kinnaird is standing outside her new premises in Oxford’s Covered Market – Lula’s Cafe & Deli – which is due to open in August, work now ongoing to get the former chocolate shop up-and-running in time for the summer season, and she couldn’t be more delighted.
Beaming from ear-to-ear, she says: “When we first opened Lula’s Ethiopian and Eritrean three years ago on Park End Street I promised myself that I’d open my second site within three years, and here we are.”
‘We want to be a real asset to The Covered Market so I feel hugely excited and very blessed’
If you are already one of Lula’s legions of fans, you can expect something a bit different from the new site – the menu purely veggie/vegan and gluten free to cater for the myriad of locals, tourists, students, workers and visitors that pour into Oxford’s historic indoor market every day.
“All the food will be Ethiopian – it’s what we do and we want to be different – and the veggie/vegan crowd is growing so we will have all the classics – rice, stews, injera pancakes, salads and teff gluten free bread, all made freshly every day, as well as Ethiopian ceremony coffee and lots of lovely cakes,” she says. Lula’s will also be selling its own Ethiopian sauces and coffee

And now that Oxford City Council is busy enticing new hospitality units to open up in The Covered Market with late night opening hours and a busy events calendar Tap Social’s new bar joins Oxford Covered Market’s regeneration with food and drink hub, evening opening hours and Brixton Village Market vibe, Arbequina having also recently signed up EXCLUSIVE: ‘It’s a match made in heaven’ The lowdown on Arbequina’s new restaurant in Oxford’s Covered Market this summer, and its crowdfunding!, Lula’s is the latest to join the likes of Hamblin, The Market Tap by Tap Social, Sartorellis, Il Corno, The Market Cellar, Teardrop and Gulp Fiction.
‘We have wanted to open a second branch of Lula’s for a long time and as soon as I walked into The Covered Market I knew this was the place’
“We are so excited. We have wanted to open a second branch of Lula’s for a long time and as soon as I walked into The Covered Market I knew this was the place,” Lula says looking at the bustling city centre hub.

“When I was looking for a new site I walked through here and it was absolutely packed. I knew then that The Covered Market was where I wanted to be, so I started the ball rolling.
“I know there were lots of people interested in this unit, but I persisted, and jumped through all the hoops, and finally got the green light to process with Lula’s Cafe and Deli. But then when I set my mind to something I see it through to the end,” Lula smiles.
‘the veggie/vegan crowd is growing so we will have all the classics here – rice, stews, injera pancakes, salads and teff gluten free bread, all made freshly every day’
“So we’ve done our research, and what we want to do here is bring something different to The Covered Market. I have a plan!” she adds.
Her pivotal aims for the 35-seater Lula’s Cafe & Deli are affordability, great customer service, exciting food, friendliness, good conversation, cakes, coffee and of course a strictly veggie/vegan and gluten free menu.

Born in Ethiopia and living in Eritrea as a child, Lula travelled the world with her husband who worked for the UN and when they visited Oxford she pledged to make it her home one day. “I fell in love with Oxford and The Covered Market,” she remembers. “It has so much character and history.”
‘I fell in love with Oxford and The Covered market. It has so much character and history’
“But fundamentally I just love people and food is a great way into that, so we want to build a real community in The Covered Market, this what will make me happy, people popping on for a cup of coffee and a chat, it’s so important.”

“And while opening up a new business is always a challenge, people always say that coming to Lula’s Ethiopian is like visiting a friend, and that’s what we want to continue.
‘people always say that coming to Lula’s Ethiopian is like visiting a friend, and that’s what we want to continue’
So come August, when the doors to Lula’s Cafe and Deli will swing open, pop in for some fabulous authentic Ethiopian food, a cup of coffee and a chat. “We want to be a real asset to The Covered Market so I feel hugely excited and very blessed.”
Watch this space for further updates https://www.lulasethiopiancuisine.co.uk