Robert Howell Brooks (February 6, 1937 – July 16, 2006) was founder of

Naturally Fresh, Inc. Naturally Fresh, Inc. is a producer of dressings, sauces, marinades, dips, oils, and vinegar. The company also manufactures dressings, sauces and dips for a number of different restaurants and institutions, including Hooters. It is currently one o ...

in 1966 in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia. He helped create the Hooters of America, Inc. restaurant chain that would eventually drive that company's rapid expansion in the mid–late 1990s.

Early life and career

Born in

Loris, South Carolina Loris is a city in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 2,396 at the 2010 census, up from 2,079 in 2000. Geography Loris is in northern Horry County on the Atlantic coastal plain. U.S. Route 701 passes through the city, ...

(near the Myrtle Beach area), Brooks grew up on a tobacco farm. A 1960 dairy science graduate of Clemson University, Brooks spent time in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

before founding Naturally Fresh Foods, a condiment and

salad dressing A salad dressing is a sauce for salads. Used on virtually all '' leafy salads'', dressings may also be used in making salads of beans (such as three bean salad), noodle or pasta salads and antipasti, and forms of potato salad. Salad dressings ...

manufacturer in the Atlanta area, in 1967.. He was raised as

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

Involvement with Hooters

In 1984, Brooks bought the expansion and franchise rights for Hooters from Lynn D. Stewart and his five minority partners. Brooks founded Hooters America, Inc., along with a group of investors. He eventually got majority control and chairmanship of the entire organization. Under Brooks' leadership, Hooters expanded from half a dozen restaurants (in and around

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a populat ...

) in the mid-1980s; to over 430 stores worldwide (including

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

). The company also included Hooters Air, an airline that ran from 2004 to 2006; the

Hooters Pro Cup The CARS Solid Rock Carriers Tour (formerly known as the USARacing Pro Cup Series, USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, CARS Pro Cup Series, Rev-Oil Pro Cup Series, CARS X1-R Pro Cup Series) is a stock car auto racing series in the United States. It is s ...

(

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

); the Hooters Pro Tour (

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

); the

Hooters Casino Hotel Oyo Hotel & Casino (stylized as OYO Hotel & Casino) is a casino hotel near the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned by Highgate and Oyo Hotels & Homes, and its casino is operated by Paragon Gaming. It is located next ...

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, which opened in February 2006; and the Hooters MasterCard, which debuted in March 2006. Brooks purchased the Hooters

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...

from the company's founders in 2001. He turned over control of the company to his son, Coby, in 2003; and retired to

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its y ...

. Brooks would still come up and visit the Atlanta headquarters on a weekly basis, though. Even after his retirement from Hooters, he was still affectionately known as the "World Wide Wing Commander" by company employees.

Awards

Brooks was named Georgia Entrepreneur of the Year in 1996.

Donations to South Carolina universities

Brooks was a major donor to universities in

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. The Robert H. Brooks Performing Arts Center at Clemson, completed during the 1993-94 school year, was named in his honor following a large donation. He also donated $2 million to

Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, it became an in ...

(Conway, SC) in 2003 to create their first football stadium which the university named

Brooks Stadium Brooks Stadium is a 21,000-seat multi-purpose stadium in Conway, South Carolina. It is home to the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football team at Coastal Carolina University. The facility opened in 2003 and is named in honor of Coby Garrett Bro ...

in his children's honor. He also created the Brooks Motorsports Institute (now Brooks Institute for Sports Science), the first of its kind in the US, at Clemson University about the study of the motorsports industry in the US.

Death

Brooks died in

on July 16, 2006 of a cerebral aneurysm. The eldest son from his first marriage, Mark, was killed in an April 1, 1993 plane crash with

1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series The 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 44th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 21st modern-era Cup season. The season began on February 9, 1992, and ended on November 15, 1992. Independent owner/driver Alan ...

champion,

Alan Kulwicki Alan Dennis Kulwicki (December 14, 1954 – April 1, 1993), nicknamed "Special K" and the "Polish Prince", was an American auto racing driver and team owner. He started racing at local short tracks in Wisconsin before moving up to regional ...

. Younger son Coby Brooks became President and CEO of Hooters, Inc. and Naturally Fresh, Inc., but left Hooters after the sale of the company in 2011.

Tributes to Brooks

Following the announcement of Brooks' death on July 17, 2006, the main page of the Hooters website changed their sign to "Farewell World Wide Wing Commander" that ran from July 17, 2006 to September 10, 2006. A tribute was also done in the July 31, 2006 comic strip '' Prickly City''. The 2007 Hooters swimsuit calendar was also dedicated in his memory.Hooters Calendar Official Site : Home page
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Notes

References

*Cooper, Pat. "Robert H. Brooks". ''HOOTERS Magazine''. February/ March 2008. p. 91.
Hooters news on Robert H. BrooksMSNBC article on Robert H. Brooks
* ttps://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/18/business/18brooks.html?ex=1310875200&en=9c042207dfe5f9a3&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss ''New York Times'' article on Brooks' faith {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Robert H. 1937 births 2006 deaths People from Loris, South Carolina American motorsport people Auto racing executives Clemson University alumni American restaurateurs United States Army soldiers Hooters people Businesspeople from Atlanta American food company founders 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople American United Methodists 20th-century Methodists