Ninety Nine Restaurant & Pub could be headed for a change in ownership as Cannae Holdings reviews its restaurant business, according to The Boston Globe.
Cannae has been weighing strategic alternatives for its two remaining restaurant chains, Ninety Nine and O’Charley’s. The latter abruptly closed company-owned restaurants across the country on September 9. The Globe reported that Cannae CEO Ryan Caswell has indicated the company expects proceeds from a sale, though no transaction involving Ninety Nine has been announced.
The possible sale comes at a markedly different point for the two sister brands. Ninety Nine operates 93 company-owned restaurants across seven northeastern states, according to Cannae’s first-quarter shareholder letter. Cannae said the chain remained profitable on an adjusted EBITDA basis during the quarter, while O’Charley’s continued to struggle to retain customers and bring in new ones.
Ninety Nine’s same-store sales fell about 3 percent in the first half of 2026, compared with a decline of about 13 percent at O’Charley’s, the Globe reported.
O’Charley’s closures unfolded with little warning to employees. Workers at restaurants in Tennessee, Illinois and Kentucky told local news outlets they had been informed that their locations would close permanently at 8 p.m. September 9. Some said they received one day’s notice or learned of the decision that morning. The closures brought a sharp end to company-owned operations at a chain that once had nearly 250 restaurants nationwide. A franchised restaurant in Niles, Ohio, was expected to remain open until September 27.
Ninety Nine has sought to distance its operations from those closures. A spokesperson told the Globe that decisions involving O’Charley’s would have no impact on Ninety Nine and said the chain would continue serving its New England guests regardless of any ownership change.
Founded by Charlie Doe in Boston in 1952, Ninety Nine takes its name from the address of its first restaurant, 99 State Street. The Doe family sold the regional chain to O’Charley’s in 2002. Today, it remains concentrated in the Northeast, with more than 4,000 employees, according to the Globe.
Dining and Cooking