diff --git a/lib/mergeset/table.go b/lib/mergeset/table.go
index 973ca3665..8eddea043 100644
--- a/lib/mergeset/table.go
+++ b/lib/mergeset/table.go
@@ -911,7 +911,10 @@ var mergeWorkersCount = func() int {
 }()
 
 func openParts(path string) ([]*partWrapper, error) {
-	// Verify that the directory for the parts exists.
+	// The path can be missing after restoring from backup, so create it if needed.
+	if err := fs.MkdirAllIfNotExist(path); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
 	d, err := os.Open(path)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("cannot open difrectory: %s", err)
diff --git a/lib/storage/partition.go b/lib/storage/partition.go
index 50cae5d64..9b3d9a73d 100644
--- a/lib/storage/partition.go
+++ b/lib/storage/partition.go
@@ -1253,7 +1253,10 @@ func appendPartsToMerge(dst, src []*partWrapper, maxPartsToMerge int, maxRows ui
 }
 
 func openParts(pathPrefix1, pathPrefix2, path string) ([]*partWrapper, error) {
-	// Verify that the directory for the parts exists.
+	// The path can be missing after restoring from backup, so create it if needed.
+	if err := fs.MkdirAllIfNotExist(path); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
 	d, err := os.Open(path)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("cannot open directory %q: %s", path, err)