Coby Brooks Net Worth

Coby Garrett Brooks (born May 17, 1969) is the former president and CEO of Hooters, Inc. and Naturally Fresh, Inc. Brooks was promoted to these positions in 2003, three years before the death of his father, Hooters chairman Robert H. Brooks.

After his father’s death, Brooks gained a controlling interest in his father’s companies and was named chairman of his father’s estate. He became embroiled in a dispute with his father’s widow, Tami, over the distribution of the elder Brooks’ estate. Brooks was left 30 percent of his father’s estate.

Brooks appeared on an episode of the CBS reality TV show Undercover Boss featuring Hooters on February. Brooks left Hooters after the sale of the company in 2011 and is now a franchisee of Twin Peaks, another “breastaurant” chain. Brooks also made a cameo alongside Twin Peaks CEO Randy DeWitt on another episode of Undercover Boss, going undercover as a “rude patron” to ensure employees were aware of the protocols of dealing with rude customers after encountering some that were unaware at earlier jobs. He was ejected from the bar and would appear at the end of the episode to donate $15,000 to the bartender at that location. After Brooks’s departure from Hooters, he was replaced by Terrance M. Marks. He made a third cameo in the Cinnabon episode to give advice to a CEO going undercover that was a chairperson in the Hooters episode. He would also appear in the Epic Bosses and Epic Employees highlight episodes.

What is Coby Brooks’ net worth?

Coby Brooks is an American businessman and entrepreneur who has a net worth of $20 million. Coby Brooks is best known as the former president and CEO of the Hooters restaurant chain and the condiment manufacturer Naturally Fresh. He took over the companies in 2003 from his father, Robert H. Brooks, who purchased the former and founded the latter. Brooks eventually left Hooters after the company was sold in 2011. Robert H. Brooks passed away in 2006. Upon Robert’s death, Coby gained a controlling interest and became chairman of his father’s estate. A dispute occurred between Coby and his father’s widow Tami. Tami was granted $1 million a year for 20 years but sued the estate. The two settled for an undisclosed amount in 2009. In February 2010 Coby appeared on an episode of the CBS reality show Undercover Boss. He sold Hooters and left the company in 2011. He is now a franchisee of another breastaurant chain, Twin Peaks.

Coby Brooks Salary: $1 million

Net Worth: $20 Million

Date of Birth: May 17, 1969 (54 years old)

Gender: Male

Business Career

Upon the retirement of his father in 2003, Brooks took over as the president and CEO of both of his father’s companies, Hooters and Naturally Fresh. The latter produces sauces, marinades, salad dressings, dips, and various oils, providing them to such restaurants as Hooters, which Brooks’s father purchased in 1984. Under his leadership, the brand expanded to over 425 stores worldwide over the decades. He bought majority control and became chairman of the company in 2002.

After his father passed away in 2006, Brooks gained a controlling interest in both Hooters and Naturally Fresh. He left Hooters after selling the company to a private equity firm in 2011. The chain later became a franchisee of Twin Peaks. Brooks operates a handful of Twin Peaks restaurants via his holding and management company La Cima Restaurants. Meanwhile, in 2013, Naturally Fresh was purchased by TreeHouse Foods.

Estate Legal Dispute

After his father’s passing, Brooks became embroiled in a legal dispute with his father’s widow Tami. The dispute had to do with the distribution of his father’s estate, as 30% of the estate was left to Coby, 30% to Coby’s underage half-sister Boni, 30% to other family members, and 10% to Clemson University. Although Tami was bequeathed with $1 million per year for 20 years, she failed to receive her 30% share of the estate that was due to her under South Carolina’s elective share law. Tami and Coby ultimately settled for an undisclosed amount, with Coby seeking outside investors to foot the bill.

Undercover Boss

In early 2010, Brooks appeared in an episode of the CBS reality television series “Undercover Boss.” The episode featured him working in the Naturally Fresh factory in Atlanta, where one of the employees told him that the company had gone downhill since the passing of his father. Because Brooks was “undercover,” the employee simply spoke their mind without knowing to whom they were speaking.

800 Acre Ranch

In addition to the 30% share he received of his late father’s estate, Brooks had a home on a hunting preserve straddling the border of Georgia and Florida. Spanning roughly 790 acres, the main house is a 2,605-square-foot abode with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and two bunk rooms. The residence is flanked by a fishing pond and covered deck. In 2022, Brooks listed the property for just over $4 million.