| 99 Restaurants, LLC | |
| Trading Name: | The Ninety Nine Restaurant & Pub |
| Type: | Subsidiary |
| Hq Location City: | Woburn, Massachusetts |
| Hq Location Country: | U.S. |
| Area Served: | Northeastern United States |
| Locations: | 97 (as of May 2023) |
The Ninety Nine Restaurant & Pub, also known as The Nines, is a chain of casual dining restaurants in the Northeastern United States. It is headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts, with 97 locations in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.[1]
The Ninety Nine was founded in 1952 when Charles F. "Charlie" Doe (d. 2006) opened a restaurant at 99 State Street in Boston.[2] The chain uses a horseshoe in its logo after Doe's wife gave him one to hang in his restaurant. Doe expanded the restaurant into the Boston suburbs and then to other states in New England, making him an early pioneer of the casual dining experience.[3] [4]
The chain was owned by Doe's family until 2002 when it was sold to Nashville-based O'Charley's group for $116 million cash and 2.35 million O'Charley's stock shares.[5] [6] At sale, the chain had 74 restaurants in New England. The chain marked 99 locations on December 6, 2004.
In 2012, O'Charleys and the Ninety Nine Restaurant brand were purchased by Fidelity National Financial for $221 million.[7] 99 Restaurants, LLC was restructured as an asset of American Blue Cross Holdings, a joint venture of Fidelity National and Newport Global Advisors, remaining such when J. Alexander's was spun off.[8] In 2017, J. Alexander's nearly purchased Fidelity's stake in American Blue Cross Holdings to acquire the Ninety Nine brand,[9] but the deal was rejected in 2018 by J. Alexander shareholders, as it would have given majority ownership to Fidelity, their previous owner.[10]
Following the failed deal, Ninety Nine was restructured under Cannae Holdings in 2018, a spinoff of Fidelity National Financial.[11]
The Ninety Nine Restaurant & Pub boasts, "Our diverse menu features many pub favorites in addition to seasonal specials." The most popular items of the menu are seafood, which include the Fried Seafood Platter, Shrimp Scampi, Prime Rib Dinner, and Chicken Marsala. They have other family meal deals and lunch combos together with the everyday specials of theirs, including the $14.99 Big Deal Meals, which can be availed on any day from Monday to Wednesday. It also happens to have Happy Hours, discounted appetizers and drinks, Sunday Football Frenzy specials, and the like.[12] [13]