Billericay French Martini here to stay after being seized

French Martini, in Billericay, had the locks changed on Thursday morning and a notice of seizure was placed on the window by bailiffs. 

Residents immediately began to fear the club could be lost for good however new acting manager, Barzy Othman, confirmed to the Echo on Friday the issued “had been resolved”. 

Club - Barzy Othman and co-owner, Ali Has (Image: Barzy Othman)

The 32-year-old re-opened the club on Friday and events planned over the weekend went ahead. 

Barzy said: “Enforcement officers came in from the High Court and seized the place, but we have got the keys back.

“We had a normal Friday night and over the weekend we had a few events booked for the upcoming nights, we cannot let people down and it helps us to make money as well, it would have been a shame to let it stay closed.

“We believe in French Martini, other places on the High Street are restaurants and bars but we are nightclub.”

He added that the business is now ready for a “new start” and is looking to get things back to the positive standard the business has tried to foster since opening in 2020.

Barzy said: “It is a new start for the business, and we want to come back with a positive reputation, we have had some negative remarks around this situation, and we want everyone to be able to feel safe and secure at French Martini.

“So that everyone has good service, no charging and everyone is being given a good experience.”

Social media speculation exploded across Billericay community groups on Thursday and Friday, with posts speculating on “what could replace” the nightclub, and assuming the death knell has been sounded for the business.

Barzy added that this “can hurt quite a bit.”

He said: “That is why I came forward, just to try and nip that in the bud while people’s imaginations ran wild, we had to say something about this, explain that this is the situation.”