Renovation work is gathering pace at the former North East visitor centre, which is being turned into a pizza restaurant.
Crust.k, the latest venture from the family behind Crust Norton and mobile pizza business Flaming Dough, is taking shape at the former Billingham Beck Visitor Centre.
James Durham, owner of the business, said: "When we first viewed the building last September, it took a bit of imagination to see it as a restaurant.
"There was no commercial kitchen, no bar and none of the infrastructure you’d normally expect.
"We’ve pretty much had to build a restaurant inside the existing shell."
The team has stripped out walls, built a kitchen and bar, installed new services and done much of the work themselves.
The restaurant’s centrepiece has arrived: a two-tonne Marana Forni pizza oven hand-built in Italy.
Mr Durham said: "The pizza oven became a bit of a saga.
"Getting it back from Manchester was one challenge.
"Then we had to work out how you actually get a two-tonne pizza oven into a former visitor centre.
"There was definitely a moment when it was sitting on the front of a tractor where you start questioning whether this is a normal way to open a restaurant.
"But we got it in, and seeing it sitting in the kitchen was probably one of the first points where everything started to feel very real."
The opening menu is still being developed, with plans for pizza, fresh pasta, Mediterranean-inspired dishes, brunch, sharing plates and Sunday lunches, while the drinks menu is expected to include speciality coffee, draught beer, wine and cocktails.
Mr Durham, from Norton, said: "Pizza will always be a big part of what we do.
"It’s where all of this started.
"But Crust K isn’t going to be just another pizza restaurant.
“We want somewhere you can pop in for a coffee and something to eat, meet friends or family for lunch, or come back in the evening for dinner and a few drinks.
Before launching Flaming Dough in 2022, James Durham worked as a senior planning manager, leaving his corporate job in 2024 to open Crust Norton.
James’s daughter Amelia will move from Crust Norton to Crust K and take a key front-of-house role when it opens.
Opening a restaurant at Billingham Beck brings things full circle for James and Amelia.
Amelia worked alongside her dad during the early days of Flaming Dough, including when the family’s pizza trailer traded at Billingham Beck.
James said: “Amelia was there with me in the early days on the pizza van, including serving pizzas here at Billingham Beck.
“So to go from the two of us serving pizzas from a trailer here to Amelia helping us run front of house in a restaurant at the same place a few years later is pretty surreal.
Planning images show a warm, informal restaurant that uses the timber building’s character, with an open kitchen, bar and outdoor space.
The family has also documented the renovation on Crust K’s new social media pages, from major milestones to the messier reality of building a restaurant.
James said: “The reaction has probably been one of the biggest surprises.
“Rather than disappear for a few months and suddenly reveal a finished restaurant, we decided to show people what actually goes into creating one.
“That means they’ve seen the dust, the things that don’t quite go to plan and plenty of the work happening behind the scenes.
“People seem to have really bought into it. Hopefully when they eventually walk through the doors they’ll feel like they’ve watched the place being built with us.”
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Work will continue in the coming weeks as the kitchen, bar and dining areas are finished and the team prepares to open.
Crust K is expected to seat around 45 people inside, with plans to use the outdoor space and country park setting.
The opening date has not yet been announced.
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