99 Restaurant & Pub

[TRU7536]

I am suprised that they are closing in the some busiest markets in CT retail. These 3 towns are retail mecca. However, i am not suprised, due to all the other places within those towns to eat. In Newington, seems like family owned places are the place to be! Joe Garlics is always packed (great food) and the former HOPS on the Pike is now Carsons (i heard great food). The Newington location is in a bad spot, so i see it empty for a long time.

[Bdubs]

What was there before? 
I see an ancient old sign with "restaurant" on it right off to the side.  I never grew up in that area, so not really sure about the history around there.

[AmesNewington]

What was there before? 
I see an ancient old sign with "restaurant" on it right off to the side.  I never grew up in that area, so not really sure about the history around there.

It was formerly an Uncle Joe's restaurant. Before that, I believe it was called LUMS.

[AmesNewington]

I am suprised that they are closing in the some busiest markets in CT retail. These 3 towns are retail mecca. However, i am not suprised, due to all the other places within those towns to eat. In Newington, seems like family owned places are the place to be! Joe Garlics is always packed (great food) and the former HOPS on the Pike is now Carsons (i heard great food). The Newington location is in a bad spot, so i see it empty for a long time.

The closing of 99 was a complete shock to me. I liked the place. I have great memories going there. The service was always consistant and the food was always decent. But TRU7536 is right, the Newington location was in such an out of the way spot. It was always a challenge just getting there. The best area for restaurants on the Pike is anywhere south of McDonald's, especially within the Lowe's vicinity. There is no doubt room for a few additional restaurants in town. I would like to see this trend of local eateries opening continue. I'm looking forward to trying Carson's. While local is great, I wouldn't mind seeing an Olive Garden or Five Guys open on the Pike. 

[EddieJ1984]

Roosevelt Boulevard and Welsh Road (located in former Bally's Fitness Center)

Wrong, it was a tweeter before, the bally's is next to it and still open.

[ynkeesfn82]

The former 99 Restaurant Location in Manchester is gonna be come Sonic's 2nd location in Connecticut!!!!!

[ynkeesfn82]

I believe it was called LUMS.

There was a Lums in Plainville. On New Britain Avenue across the street from the Plainville Commons Shopping Center (Lowes, Dicks, AC More, etc) is a run-down, abandoned, and overgrown strip center that had among other things a transmission place and a used book store, and Chang's Chinese Buffet. Before Chang's Buffet was there a restaurant was there called Muir's. And before Muir's it was Lums. Changs has probably been closed close to 15 years now. Mr. Chang still owns the entire property, hasn't paid his taxes on it in years, refuses to clean up the contamination on the site from the former transmission shop, and is now suing the town of Plainville because they've begun fore-closure proceedings on his property. His lawyer claims Chang is paying his back taxes slowly, so the town needs to back off. The town argues they've missed out on 3 development deals because he won't clean up the property. There's not much land available to develop in Plainville and it's disgusting it's across the street from a thriving Shopping Hub.

~~~~~~ Marc B

[CTAmeshopper]

We have one here in Torrington, CT it has good food at decent prices, before it was that it was Red Lobster, and before that it was an old Dunkin Donuts that I guess was opened in the 1970's it was OLD it had the 70's logo and complete diner style seating with circular stools that swiveled. I still remember it like it was yesterday.

[retailisking]

Four Philly-area restaurants closed, including one in South Jersey, while another Connecticut location (Waterbury) is gone.

http://www.nrn.com/article/ocharleys-shutters-16-restaurants

[EddieJ1984]

Yep, the one in northeast philly on the roosevelt boulavard (was a tweeter before hand) is closed.

[AmesNewington]

I've always liked 99. I was disappointed they closed the Newington CT one, so I'm hoping Glastonbury and Cromwell remain open, especially Glastonbury, which has exceptional service and good food.

[EddieJ1984]

Ah so all the pa, nj locations are gone. I only knew of 2 and they are now closed (ne philly and bensalem).

[ynkeesfn82]

I've always liked 99. I was disappointed they closed the Newington CT one, so I'm hoping Glastonbury and Cromwell remain open, especially Glastonbury, which has exceptional service and good food.

Waterbury is the only Connecticut location closing.

[ynkeesfn82]

Sonic demolition the former 99 in Manchester this morning (3/31/11).

http://www.facebook.com/sonicofct

[TRU7536]

Former 99 in Newington, is now a family owned place called Fat and Happy lol...

[irichluck21]

I've always liked 99. I was disappointed they closed the Newington CT one, so I'm hoping Glastonbury and Cromwell remain open, especially Glastonbury, which has exceptional service and good food.

Waterbury is the only Connecticut location closing.

Not true...
Avon also shut it's doors.
So far Orange, Manchester, Newington, Waterbury and Avon closed.

I opened the Avon 99 in August of 2003.(We were an old On the Border)We were notorious for inconsistent food and slow service in the kitchen. The service staff was not bad at all but when the kicthen doesn't follow through the wait staff gets the flack and the blame most of the time. We started out strong but a huge turn around in managers in the first year (3 General managers and 13 assistant managers!) was harmful to our beginning and we were never able to make it out.  Another problem we had was that we were pushed back from the roadside in the plaza and many large trees by roadside blocked the view of our building. So unless you knew we were in the Micahels/ Marshalls plaza it was difficult to see us. The town of Avon wouldn't let us put a sign out by the road like most 99s have. Also, normally the wall above the front door of the restaurant is normally painted bright red. Avon wouldn't allow us to paint it red, so we had to make it black. It was difficult to see the store at night.
I left in August of 2006 (I was one of 2 original hires) After 3 years I had enough and the new general manager was awful- he was from McDonald's and had no clue how to run a 99. He never liked me because I knew more than him. The guests all knew me. Servers came to me about everything. So I left- that or I am sure he was going to fire me. He had tried to cut my shifts slowly away-try to force me to quit.
Torrington 99 opened in 2005 and killed about half of our guests that came from Torrington and Winsted they went to some place closer. We lost 4 servers who transfered there also, since they lived closer. Three of those servers are still there today. I helped open up that restaurant as a certified trainer for servers and bartenders. It was an old location because it was an old Red Lobster in a strip mall, very outdated. 99 Avon closed their doors Decemeber 24 2010 at 3:00- not letting guests in after 3:00. Servers showed up to work and the doors were locked. A server I am still friends with was there at 1:13pm when the general manager (#10 in 7 years) told her that her final table had just sat down and that all guests were to be cleared out by 3 PM.

Newington 99- I worked here twice as a fill in. Awful location- it was so far away from everything else on the turnpike that no one could find it. People used to call asking how to get there. Plus the Siesta Motel was located next to 99 and it had some shady people. When I was there covering a shift a woman passed out at the bar- she was by herself. The paramedics came and couldn't revive her, she ended up having a needle still in her arm. That store was notorious for trash that came in and would dine and dash. Lots of call women and shady looking men.

Manchester 99 was an old Ground Round. Tiny place. I helped open up the store. Worked there for a week to cover vacations. They were so short handed at one point that we only had 1 bartender and 2 servers on a Monday night. I had 13 tables going and managed to keep my head above water. The girl I was working with couldn;t handle more than 4 tables. So, we still had a wait and people were annoyed that there were plenty of open tables but they had to wait anyway. Bad management there too. The location was also bad  it was near the former Ames/Caldors which is now a Pilgrim Furniture that area is pretty dead now....however it was one of the only restaraunts down in that area. The rest were down located by the mall. So location also hurt.

Waterbury 99 I never worked at. Although My parents lived about 10  minutes away in Waterbury. Even on summer breaks I would go back to Avon (despite teh 35 minute drive) because the clientele was good there. Good tippers. Waterbury had a lot of ghetto trash that went into this 99. An assistant manager I was good friends with was transfered to Waterbury from Avon. He ended up resigning from the company and going to Ruby Tuesdays within a month. He was tired of dealing with customers that complained over nothing and basically tried to get things for free. They also had several dine and dashes. He had to call the cops one night because two groups of teenage guys started to fight in the restaurant.

I also worked at the 99 Bristol once as coverage. Great tips- best night I ever had. They are busy non stop and you get some great guests from neighboring ESPN. Plus not too many other choices to eat in Bristol. Oh and a Super Stop n Shop is in the same plaza. Lots of money to be made there. Problem is all the servers there have been tehre a loonnnnng time and don't want to give up any shifts- they pretty much have set schedules. Not as many teens/college kids working there.

The 99s still open are in good locations in terms of driving distances and locatability...
Vernon, Cromwell, Glastonbury, Bristol, Torrington, Wallingford and Enfield are left and all are in a good location.
Wallingford and Enfield however are two of the weakest stores.
Enfield is the newest store in CT (2005) and the building was built for 99 so they are staying open because it is so new, however when I was still working in 2006, after one year of being open it was the lowest performer in sales company wide. Newington was just above them. Orange just above them.
Avon was supposed to stay open until 2013 (when the 10 year lease was up) but it was costing the company more money to stay open) so they closed it and would rather pay for an empty building. Than to keep it open paying staff, food costs, electricity, heat, etc...I still recall the phone number by heart... (860) 677-2699...
Good memories about the Nines. I still have my gold name tag that said I was a certified trainer....and my money bag pins for reaching sales (600 at lunch 1000 at dinner) They looked like garbage bags and guests always asked me if I took out the trash. :)

[AmesNewington]

I miss the Newington location. I always thought it was a great location. I didn't realize the motel had a negative effect on the restaurant. I never saw anyone that bad over there. I guess the new restaurant has to keep things in line there. At the time that 99 had better service than the other chains on the Pike (Ruby Tuesday and Applebees, the latter closed). Now Ruby Tuesday cleaned up their act.

The Glastonbury 99 is VERY good. We went there a year ago and the service was excellent and so was the food. It was a bit bigger than Newington and has an outside seating area. I would bet that is one of the best, if not THE best CT 99 location currently.

I still have yet to go to the Cromwell 99. I heard it was a good location. It's right near Route 9 and the Kmart and Stop and Shop plazas.

[irichluck21]

The Newington 99 wasn't bad during lunch time or even early dinner...it was around 9-11/12 that the undesirables came in. 99 was open until midnight on Friday and Saturday. That's when it became odd there. My friend (who had worked at Avon but eventually transferred to Newington) always hated closing. They always made sure to leave with another person. Sometimes the closing servers would wait for the closing manager so no one would leave alone.
A few cars had gotten broken into in the parking lot.

[MikeRa]

We have in the Philadelphia, PA area 5 "99 Restaurants" locations.  Three of them are:

• US Route 1, Horizon Boulevard and Rockhill Drive (built on site of former Eastern State Hospital [owned by The Commonwealth of PA])
  
• Roosevelt Boulevard and Welsh Road (located in Northeast Shopping Center)
  
• Deptford, NJ (Across from Deptford Mall)
  

Edited for corectness

The former 99 Restaurant at Horizon Boulevard is reopening as Bertucci's Italian Restaurant

[retailisking]

This comment cuts to the chase:

"The reason it's closing...lease is up, building needs major work and business had dropped off recently. Every restaurant that occupied this building has closed. It's a terrible location with little visibility from a hogan Road."

http://bangordailynews.com/2013/09/12/news/bangor/ninety-nine-restaurant-chain-to-close-bangor-location

[Zayre88]

This comment cuts to the chase:

"The reason it's closing...lease is up, building needs major work and business had dropped off recently. Every restaurant that occupied this building has closed. It's a terrible location with little visibility from a hogan Road."

http://bangordailynews.com/2013/09/12/news/bangor/ninety-nine-restaurant-chain-to-close-bangor-location

Every restaurant: meaning two restaurants?

[retailisking]

Red Lobster, Atlantic Seafood & Grill and now the Ninety Nine have occupied this location.

[retailisking]

The Concord, NH Ninety Nine is gettting an Applebees-like refresh, with the old junk on the walls getting auctioned off
http://concord-nh.patch.com/groups/business-news/p/concords-ninety-nine-restaurant-to-get-refreshed

[ynkeesfn82]

Meanwhile the one in Forestville (Bristol), CT is reopening this Thursday 9/19 at 5PM after a remodel.

http://www.bristolpress.com/articles/2013/09/17/news/doc5239152a2fda9994491265.txt

[giantsfan2016]

Meanwhile the one in Forestville (Bristol), CT is reopening this Thursday 9/19 at 5PM after a remodel.

http://www.bristolpress.com/articles/2013/09/17/news/doc5239152a2fda9994491265.txt

I worked at the Stop & Shop in the same plaza as this 99 for 13 months (October 2015-November 2016) and in that time I have to tell you The 99 was always packed.

[giantsfan2016]

The former Newington, CT one is now a locally owned Jamaican Restaurant called Saz Jamaican Restaurant. It opened in March, but just had a ribbon cutting ceremony. It's omething like the 4th or 5th restaurant in that building since The 99 closed 8ish years ago.

http://www.newbritainherald.com/NBH-Newington+News/330287/sazs-brings-savory-jamaican-food-to-newington

[Jon_TheBarber]

Gold Fever Wings?? Yes please

[riickyyyspaaaaniiiish]

Gold Fever Wings?? Yes please

I h_av^e _on^ly h^ad t^ho_se o_nc^e, I u_su^al_ly g_o ^fo_r ^bb_w ^xl o^rd_er^. N^ee_d ^to h^av_e ^so_me s_tr^ai_gh^t _fr^om t^he f^ri_dg^e _th^e _ne^xt d^ay_, ^li_ke c_ol^d _pi^zz_a ^co_ld w_in^gs t^as_te b_et^te_r ^th_e ⁿe_xt d_ay^.
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[Jon_TheBarber]

Gold Fever Wings?? Yes please

I h_av^e _on^ly h^ad t^ho_se o_nc^e, I u_su^al_ly g_o ^fo_r ^bb_w ^xl o^rd_er^. N^ee_d ^to h^av_e ^so_me s_tr^ai_gh^t _fr^om t^he f^ri_dg^e _th^e _ne^xt d^ay_, ^li_ke c_ol^d _pi^zz_a ^co_ld w_in^gs t^as_te b_et^te_r ^th_e ⁿe_xt d_ay^.
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what does that say? i usually go for BBW?  me too LOL!!!!

[JimSawhill]

Gold Fever Wings?? Yes please

I h_av^e _on^ly h^ad t^ho_se o_nc^e, I u_su^al_ly g_o ^fo_r ^bb_w ^xl o^rd_er^. N^ee_d ^to h^av_e ^so_me s_tr^ai_gh^t _fr^om t^he f^ri_dg^e _th^e _ne^xt d^ay_, ^li_ke c_ol^d _pi^zz_a ^co_ld w_in^gs t^as_te b_et^te_r ^th_e ⁿe_xt d_ay^.
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Hey Jackass, knock it off with the colors...it hurts my eyes....