THE management of a popular cafe bar is blaming a bureaucratic mix-up for the fact that it was closed for two days by a debt collection agency.

Staff and customers of Flirt – which has been credited with reviving Bournemouth’s Triangle – were shocked to find notices on the door warning them not to attempt to enter.

A forfeiture notice posted on Monday said: “These premises have today been seized on the authority of the landlord.”

But manager Adam Squires said yesterday that he was back in the premises and that the business would open today.

He said the whole episode had been a mix-up and that the repossession was intended for another address at the Triangle.

“It’s just been a bad mistake, I’m here now with the locksmith,” he said last night.

Staff turned up on Monday unaware of the repossession notice.

Mr Squires said: “It was a little bit of a shock. As soon as we found out it was jut the wrong address, it was a huge relief.”

Flirt was opened in 2011 by Rob Hazell and Peter Moody, who had previously run the successful cafe bar Legend and founded the chain Shakeaway.

The cafe bar has thrived in premises underneath Bournemouth Library where other coffee shops had already come and gone.

Its popularity has been credited with helping revive the Triangle and preceded the arrival of big names like Starbucks in the area.

Flirt was bought last summer by Shaan Hussain, who said his policy would be: “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.”

Customers arriving to find the place closed yesterday included members of a book club which meets there monthly.

One member said: “We’ve been coming here for several years and the previous owners, Rob and Peter, were very into community work and did a lot of very good work. They did very popular quiz nights which I used to attend.”

Another customer said: “We’ve been going there since it’s opened. It started with our son who’s now gone to university but we’ve continued to come here. It’s good food, and it’s just a really nice diverse place. It’s really relaxing and it’s not a chain.”

His partner added: “They have all sorts of things in the evening. There are lots of young people who come here but also people our age and older.”