diff --git a/internal/natsbus/server.go b/internal/natsbus/server.go
index 3345004..4fb5280 100644
--- a/internal/natsbus/server.go
+++ b/internal/natsbus/server.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"log/slog"
+	"os"
 	"time"
 
 	natsserver "github.com/nats-io/nats-server/v2/server"
@@ -64,10 +65,23 @@ func Start(cfg Config) (*Server, error) {
 	// Start server in background
 	go ns.Start()
 
-	// Wait for server to be ready
+	// Wait for server to be ready. If it fails (stale lock files, corrupt
+	// store), clean the data directory and retry once.
 	if !ns.ReadyForConnections(10 * time.Second) {
 		ns.Shutdown()
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("NATS server failed to start within 10s")
+		slog.Warn("NATS server failed to start, cleaning store and retrying", "dataDir", cfg.DataDir)
+		os.RemoveAll(cfg.DataDir)
+		os.MkdirAll(cfg.DataDir, 0755)
+
+		ns, err = natsserver.NewServer(opts)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("creating NATS server (retry): %w", err)
+		}
+		go ns.Start()
+		if !ns.ReadyForConnections(10 * time.Second) {
+			ns.Shutdown()
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("NATS server failed to start after retry")
+		}
 	}
 
 	slog.Info("NATS JetStream server started", "port", cfg.Port, "dataDir", cfg.DataDir)