Former Hooters' C E O Becomes Twin Peaks Franchisee

Twin Peaks, an Addison-based rival of the Hooters chain, got a big boost to its growth curve Tuesday when it signed up a new megafranchisee led by the former Hooters CEO.

Coby Brooks, who last month stepped down as president and chief executive of Atlanta-based Hooters of America, now leads a franchise team that includes at least four other Hooters alums. He said the departure was not his idea.

All left the nation's largest "breast-aurant" chain known for buxom servers sporting tiny shorts and tight shirts months after a lengthy legal battle put the chain up for sale.

With cameras flashing, Brooks, whose father, Bob Brooks, owned Hooters of America from 1984 until his death in 2006, signed a series of development agreements to open 35 Twin Peaks restaurants in six states, mostly in the East, over the next 10 years.

The deal is a coup for Twin Peaks, which has 15 restaurants in five states, including Texas and Oklahoma. The new franchisee's first restaurant is expected to open next summer.

"There is no doubt that this will have a major impact on our expansion plans," said Twin Peaks co-founder and local restaurateur Randy DeWitt. "We were on a steep growth trajectory already. We're opening one new restaurant every month [next year]. This will ensure that we are able to maintain that pace and possibly accelerate it." DeWitt and partner Scott Gordon launched Twin Peaks beside a freeway in Lewisville in 2005 after another of his restaurants, Rockfish Grill, floundered in that spot.

As he pondered what to do with the space, DeWitt began studying Hooters, which has more than 435 locations in 44 states and 28 foreign countries.

From those deliberations came Twin Peaks, which looks like the restaurant you might get if Victoria's Secret opened a hunting lodge.

Trim 20-somethings in midriff-baring red-plaid lumberjack shirts and short shorts escort guests, up to 90 percent of them male, through dining rooms that measure up to 8,000 square feet. Guests dine on favorites such as meatloaf or chicken-fried steak at rustic tables underneath herds of stuffed animals and more than 50 HDTV screens.

DeWitt sees his chain as an upscale version of Hooters. He clearly owes much to the brand that launched in Clearwater, Fla., in part as an April Fool's Day joke, according to Hooters lore.

Three months ago, Twin Peaks named another former Hooters chief executive, Rick Akam, as its chief operating officer.

And Hooters provided the proving ground for Brooks, the lead investor in Twin Peaks' now-largest franchise group. The new franchisees will operate the restaurants through Atlanta-based La Cima Restaurants. ("La Cima" translates to "the summit" or "the peak.") Under the leadership of Brooks' dad, Robert H. Brooks, the Hooters brand expanded to more than 425 stores worldwide, according to Technomic, a Chicago-based research firm.

Bob Brooks' death set off a legal battle for ownership rights to the chain between Coby Brooks and his father's widow, according to investmentnews. com.

As part of a settlement, the chain was put up for sale, according to the trade publication Nation's Restaurant News.

It was purchased in January by an investor group led by Chanticleer Holdings Inc. The deal also included the purchase of Texas Wings Inc., the largest Hooters franchisee, which operated more than 40 locations.

On Tuesday, Hooters of America said Terrance Marks, president and chief executive of the publicly traded The Pantry Inc., would join Hooters this fall as president and chief executive. Hooters could not be reached for comment.

"The new owners made it well known that they were going to replace me," said Coby Brooks, a familiar face to fans of the TV show Undercover Boss. "Had it been my choice, I would be staying." Still, Brooks said he's excited about helping his former rival grow and thinks his years as a franchisor of an international brand will help the young chain.

"I know the problems and the obstacles the franchisees have," Brooks said as the Addison Twin Peaks filled with hungry men. "And I can understand on the other side what the franchisor is trying to do."

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