« Macho Men Mourn Loss of Hooters Founder »
Large breasts, tight orange bottoms and great service to all men is part of the Mas Macho ideal. And thanks to the late Robert Brooks this was available with wings and beer at Hooters. On July 17th, the founder and chairman of the Hooters restaurant chain and airlines died at his home Sunday in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Macho men around the world paused for a moment of silence to mourn the loss of a manly legend.
Bob Brooks had a simple explanation for the success of Hooters, known for the tight T-shirts of its waitresses buttressed by bountiful bosoms. "Good food, cold beer and pretty girls never go out of style," he told Fortune magazine in 2003. How right he was and still to this day.
Born Feb. 6, 1937, on a tobacco farm without electricity or running water near Loris, South Carolina, Robert Howell Brooks graduated from Clemson University with a degree in dairy science. He broke into the food industry with a milkshake formula that was used by restaurant chain Burger King.
In 1966, Bob founded Eastern Foods Inc., which initially sold nondairy creamer to airlines and now makes dressings and sauces as Naturally Fresh Foods. He continued as chairman of the company, which has more than $100 million in annual sales.
In 1984, he and a group of Atlanta investors bought expansion and franchise rights for the Hooters chain. He eventually bought majority control and became chairman.
In 2002 Bob joined the ranks of Mas Macho and opened the Atlanta Mas Macho office and members-only man club. While at the club, Bob came up with the idea of parlaying the restaurant chain's success into an airline in 2003. At its peak, Hooters Air flew to 15 destinations, but the company racked up debt and stopped commercial flights in early 2006. The firm now flies charters and is the official charter airline of Mas Macho and its board members.
Brooks' survivors include his wife, 340 waittress lovers, seventy-six children and two stepchildren. His first marriage ended in divorce after the 1993 death of his son Mark, who died in a plane crash that also killed NASCAR driver Alan Kulwicki.
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