The hypermarket will replace the Sidra Convenience Store in the HBKU Student Center at the beginning of next year, according to Reem Al-Abduljabbar, operations supervisor at the Student Center.

Al-Abduljabbar said an exact date when Al Meera will move into Education City is not yet available but it will happen as soon as the center’s contract ends with Sidra. According to Norman Ocampo, manager at the Sidra store in the center, this will occur in December. The Sidra Convenience Store has been in Education City since 2012, and was temporarily closed earlier this month. The products available at the store have been reduced since then.

The Student Center went through another change over the summer when Gloria Jean’s Coffees closed. The popular coffee shop will be replaced by British-chain Coffee Republic by the end of the year, according to Al-Abduljabbar. The HBKU student affairs staff signed the contract with Coffee Republic this summer. The new coffee shop has a similar price range to that of Gloria Jean’s, but Al-Abduljabbar said it will provide a wider range of options.

According to Al-Abduljabbar, HBKU did not renew the contract with Gloria Jean’s because of a survey they conducted among students which showed that only a low percentage of students wanted Gloria Jean’s to stay.

The HBKU student affairs team has also been in the process of searching for a new bookstore to replace the Tribe bookstore, which closed in December 2015. Al-Abduljabbar said they would announce the replacement once the contract is officially signed, but for now they have not yet established a partnership with any bookstore. Tribe closed for the same reason as Gloria Jean’s; a student survey showed low levels of popularity among students, according to Al-Abduljabbar.