A North East restaurant has vowed to fulfil its customer's bookings after it was taken control of by its landlords earlier this week.

The Oven restaurant on Linthorpe Road in Middlesbrough was left locked up and had a possession notice on its window on Wednesday (October 2) in what was a sudden and unexpected closure.

The eatery was first opened in October 2015 and is owned by Tarek Thoma - operator of city centre venue Bazaar at the Captain Cook Centre. 

However, alleged tenancy issues led landlords from Pneuma Group Ltd to "make the difficult decision to re-enter (the) premises."

Despite this, restaurant bosses have assured their loyal customers that bookings this weekend will be fulfilled at Bazaar in a statement posted on social media today (October 5).

It reads: "Firstly, we would like to start by saying thank you to everyone who has reached out, commented, and shared kind words following the news of the unexpected closure – as you can imagine it has come as a shock to the Oven team.

"We wholeheartedly apologies to our guests who had reservations and have been unable to contact us. Unfortunately, our diary is in the restaurant, and we are unable to gain access to contact you all.

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"Hopefully we will be gaining access soon to give an update on your upcoming bookings.

"We have guests who dine with us every week, and families that spend Christmas day with us every year, and we are absolutely committed to fulfilling all our obligations and bookings going forward.

"This includes Christmas and Christmas Day bookings."

A spokesperson from Pneuma Group Limited said: "As responsible landlords, we always make it a priority to have strong relationships with our tenants and work hard to provide support and flexibility when needed. However, as a business and employer, we also have a duty to protect our revenue and ensure the ongoing stability of our operations.

"Unfortunately, in this instance, despite our best efforts to resolve the situation, the tenant has not fulfilled their rental obligations for several months. As a result, we had to make the difficult decision to re-enter our premises.

"This is never a step we take lightly, but it was necessary to safeguard our business and maintain the financial viability that allows us to continue operating, employing our staff and fulfilling our obligations to current tenants.

"We remain committed to finding constructive solutions and working with our tenants wherever possible, but it is also crucial that we take appropriate measures to protect the interests of our business and everyone who depends on it."