Coby G. Brooks
Encyclopedia
Coby G. Brooks is the former President & CEO of Hooters, Inc. and Naturally Fresh, Inc.
He is the son of Hooters creator Robert H. Brooks
. Brooks was promoted to his current position upon his father's retirement in 2003.
After his father's death, Brooks gained a controlling, but not a majority, interest in his father's companies, and he became chairman of his father's estate. This left him embroiled in a dispute with his father's widow, Tami, over the distribution of the elder Brooks' estate. Robert Brooks left 30% of his estate to Coby, 30% to his underage daughter, Boni Bell, 10% to Clemson University, and 30% to other family members. Tami was bequeathed $1 million per year for 20 years. However, she sued the estate for the ⅓ share of the estate that would be due to her under South Carolina's elective share
law. In 2009, Coby and Tami settled for an undisclosed amount, but that settlement has forced Coby to seek outside investors.Brooks resigned as the CEO of Hooters of America July 15, 2011, which ended the Brooks family control with the franchise. He is now part of an investment group with the Dallas, TX based Twin Peaks restaurants since August 23, 2011 with former top Hooters executives.
On February 14, 2010, Coby appeared on an episode of the CBS
reality TV show Undercover Boss
.
Naturally Fresh, Inc.
Naturally Fresh, Inc. was founded in 1966 as Eastern Foods by Robert H. Brooks the founder of Hooters of America to sell coffee and cream to the airline industry. It is currently one of the largest manufacturers of sauces and salad dressings in the United States...
He is the son of Hooters creator Robert H. Brooks
Robert H. Brooks
Robert H. Brooks was founder of Naturally Fresh, Inc. in 1966 in Atlanta, Georgia, and later created the Hooters of America restaurant chain in the mid-1980s.-Early life and career:...
. Brooks was promoted to his current position upon his father's retirement in 2003.
After his father's death, Brooks gained a controlling, but not a majority, interest in his father's companies, and he became chairman of his father's estate. This left him embroiled in a dispute with his father's widow, Tami, over the distribution of the elder Brooks' estate. Robert Brooks left 30% of his estate to Coby, 30% to his underage daughter, Boni Bell, 10% to Clemson University, and 30% to other family members. Tami was bequeathed $1 million per year for 20 years. However, she sued the estate for the ⅓ share of the estate that would be due to her under South Carolina's elective share
Elective share
An elective share is a term used in American law relating to inheritance, which describes a proportion of an estate which the surviving spouse of the deceased may claim in place of what they were left in the decedent's will...
law. In 2009, Coby and Tami settled for an undisclosed amount, but that settlement has forced Coby to seek outside investors.Brooks resigned as the CEO of Hooters of America July 15, 2011, which ended the Brooks family control with the franchise. He is now part of an investment group with the Dallas, TX based Twin Peaks restaurants since August 23, 2011 with former top Hooters executives.
On February 14, 2010, Coby appeared on an episode of the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
reality TV show Undercover Boss
Undercover Boss
Undercover Boss is a television franchise series that has been released in multiple countries, originating in 2009 on the British Channel 4...
.