The failed food experiment opened to much fanfare in 2017, and included an eat-in restaurant designed by Neil Perry, as well as a butchery, florist, bakery, sushi bar and quick office-friendly takeaway section.

At the time, it was the first of the store's new format food markets to open across Australia, and played a major part in the grand opening of the relocated David Jones.

But just 15 months later the company announced big changes for the food hall, scaling it back to just a cafe, and the sale of confectionery, food gifts and flowers.

Much of the floor was closed off, and some jobs were lost.

Another year later - just before the worst of COVID-19 shutdowns hit retail - the whole floor was shut down.

A David Jones spokesman said the space would be "repurposed in time", but food closure was permanent with no plans to re-open.

This has left the two upper floors of the Wollongong store crowded with goods: currently the Christmas decorations - usually a big feature for David Jones - are lumped next to the mattresses.

The downgrading of the space has left many speculating about the future of David Jones in Wollongong, after the retailer admitted in September that it had "too many stores" and that customers could expect a number of closures in the next 24 months.

However, the spokesman said the remaining portion of Wollongong's store was not included in these plans.

"We are strongly committed to our loyal customers in Wollongong and have no plans to close our Wollongong store," he said.

"We look forward to welcoming our customers into the store to share and experience our exciting Christmas offering in the coming months."

Wollongong Central owners GPT said David Jones continued to hold the lease over the empty space for the remainder of its 10-year contract, and could repurpose or leave it empty as they saw fit. David Jones could also sublet the space, GPT said.