Only two weeks after being closed down, seemingly for good, Aberdeen’s popular Bar Ninety-Nine has been brought back from the dead by a trio of well-kent north-east hospitality professionals – Adrian Gomes, Stephen McNab and Martin Farmer.
Earlier this year the business, on Back Wynd, just off the city’s Union St thoroughfare, was put up for sale by its operator, Monkey Bars (Aberdeen) Limited, which cited the ‘significant challenges’ facing the hospitality sector in general.
A sale agreement for Bar Ninety-Nine was reached, but then fell through at the last minute, prompting Monkey Bars to pull the plug altogether, closing the business after last orders on March 12.
In a statement at that time, the directors of Monkey Bars (Aberdeen) said: “We’re very sorry to say goodbye to such a popular and successful bar.
“Despite Ninety-Nine being a profitable business, we were unable to secure a buyer, leaving us with no choice but to cease operations.
“We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of our incredible bartenders who made the venue what it was and to the guests who have supported us over the years.”
Painfully, this announcement came shortly after the same operator announced that its multi-award-winning Aberdeen cocktail bar Orchid was shutting for good, after a similarly failed effort to find a new owner to take it on.
However on March 26th, in a statement that first appeared on the Instagram account of noted Aberdonian mixologist and founder of 10 Dollar Shake, Adrian Gomes, it was announced that Bar Ninety-Nine would reopen this coming weekend.
“Well, we couldn’t just let a great bar like @ninetynine_aberdeen close now, could we?” wrote Gomes.
“From 12pm this Friday, those wooden doors will open once again and the best neighbourhood vibes in the city will come alive again.
“Huge thanks to Stephen McNab for kicking this project off and taking on perhaps the biggest challenge of his career.
“Completing the trio of business partners in this venture is Martin Farmer a lifelong industry pal and hospitality devotee. 99 is back.”
SLTN approached the trio for further comment – but one has to imagine that they are a bit busy today.
