7.17.2006
Bob Brooks, Hooters owner, dies at 69
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Bob Brooks, the businessman who became known for his charity as much as his Hooters restaurants, died Sunday at his Myrtle Beach home. He was 69.Horry County leaders mourned the loss Sunday, remembering Brooks as a savvy, yet down-home, businessman who never forgot the small community where he was raised on a 100-acre tobacco farm with no electricity and running water.
Leaders said he was a multimillionaire who always was willing to help Horry County, whether it was by giving $2 million so Coastal Carolina University could build its first football stadium or starting an airline, Hooters Air, in Myrtle Beach to open up new markets for locals and to draw tourists.
Brooks made his fortune on salad dressings and other products made by Naturally Fresh Foods, his Atlanta-based company that he founded in 1967 as Eastern Foods. The company now registers more than $100 million in sales each year.
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