Ninety Nine (restaurant chain)
Regional US restaurant chain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 (as of May 2023[update]) in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.[1]
| |
| The Ninety Nine Restaurant & Pub | |
| Type | Subsidiary |
| Founded | 1952 |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Number of locations | 97 (as of May 2023) |
Area served | Northeastern United States |
| Parent |
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| Website | 99restaurants |
History
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.[2] 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.[6] The chain marked 99 locations on December 6, 2004.[5]
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]