Farnham’s The Luxe Restaurant and Bar is set to reopen its doors more than a month after it was suddenly closed.

Manager Jan Hasan Kaya told the Herald on Friday (July 11) that he had won the first stage in his quest to restart the business, after bailiffs entered the premises in the early hours of June 10 and changed the locks.

At a court hearing in Winchester on Thursday, a judge ordered that the keys be handed back to The Luxe management for a temporary reopening, Mr Kaya said.

They will now face another hearing in 18 weeks, where the fate of the high-end Mediterranean venue in Lion and Lamb Yard will be decided.

Mr Kaya said he was happy to have the business open again, but disappointed about the closure for his loyal customers and staff.

He said: “We have a court order for a temporary lease. The court said if the landlord is accepting rent, they have to let us keep it open.

“They came at 4am in the morning, and changed the locks. There was no notice and no court order,” he said.

Mr Kaya described the June shutdown as a complete shock, claiming the local council had no issue with the running of the business.

“We lost everything, the staff, bookings from our customers and we have to start again.”

He admitted that a neighbour had complained about noise, so The Luxe would no longer host live music.

He said many customers and members of the community were upset about the closure, particularly as the restaurant regularly donated vouchers to local schools.

“People were upset. We are unique, we catered towards the 80s music and people aged 30 to 40. There is not much for them in Farnham,” he said.

As for the reopening date, Mr Kaya said it would be at least a week, as they needed to rehire staff and resolve other operational issues.

He added that he was “confident” he could win his court case and hoped to be serving Farnham customers again very soon.