Getting to know people and getting invited into their lives, even if just for a moment in time, are part of why I do what I do. It is touching to hear someone’s hopes and dreams, thoughts and plans. When tragedy strikes, however, it is all the more heartbreaking, knowing all the hopes and dreams that are unrealized, the family that is left behind.
Scott Brooks’ twin brother David Brooks and families at the vigil. Xavier Tianyang Wang xwang@mcclatchy.com
Family-run restaurants
Is there anything better than having a sibling to go through life with? Perhaps this: having a sibling that can share industry secrets. Family-run restaurants may sound like something from a throwback era, but in truth, there are family ties all throughout the Charlotte food scene.
As we sat down with each set of siblings, I was struck by the way each pair was bonded to each other. There were similarities in mannerisms, postures, laughter. There were inside jokes, fun stories and serious, touching moments.
Scott Brooks and David Brooks are twins who took over their father’s business, Brooks’ Sandwich House. Alex Cason CharlotteFive
Siblings often say being in the same field only makes them stronger as individuals.
They can offer advice to each other and recommend each other’s restaurants. Of course, siblings are also known for being able to push each other’s buttons, and the commercial kitchen is no exception.
David Brooks and Scott Brooks, owner of Brooks’ Sandwich Shop, in August 2018. Alex Cason
From a chili recipe to a family business
When I met twins David Brooks and Scott Brooks, co-owners of Brooks’ Sandwich House, they told me their father’s quest to perfect his chili recipe where all of this began. “It’s been good,” Scott Brooks told me in August 2018. “God has blessed us over here.” The restaurant has been open since 1973 and has become an icon in Charlotte.
Their plans didn’t always include the family restaurant business, however. “I went to law school for a semester,” Scott said. “Figured out real quick I wasn’t gonna be a lawyer. Real quick.” Family is of so much importance to the twins that when their mother died and their father offered for them to join the family business, they immediately accepted. Of course, they would not leave Dad to do it alone.
The twins also told us this business may not be forever, and they were OK with that. “You never know when you’re gonna get that stupid offer,” David Brooks told me. “We’ve had several good offers, but I’m not ready to retire and I really don’t want to think about that now.”
For years and years, the brothers worked together tirelessly. “My dad died a little over a year ago,” Scott said in 2018. “I gotta be honest with you, I don’t know if I’d do it all over again or not. If I could make what I make now, I might just go to work for somebody.”
“But if it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” Scott said at the time. “There are really no challenges, other than the mere fact of having to get up at 3:30 in the morning.”
Early Monday morning, Scott had likely done just that, and then he was shot and killed while attempting to open the restaurant for the day. Turning on the lights each morning was something the 61-year-old had done day after day, year after year. He leaves behind a wife and teenager — and of course, his twin brother.
“Good to see you again,” were Scott’s last words to me as we wrapped up the interview. “Come on back and see me anytime.” I saw him a couple of times after that, but of course it never seems like enough. Today and this week, we are holding the Brooks family in our hearts through this tragedy.
Hundreds of people gather to mourn Scott Brooks, who was killed Monday, outside his restaurant Brooks’ Sandwich House on Tuesday, December 10, 2019. Xavier Tianyang Wang xwang@mcclatchy.com
Saying goodbye
On Monday evening, hundreds of mourners gathered at Brooks’ to say goodbye to Scott. “Guys, you don’t know how much this means to me,” David said to the crowd. “My heart’s broken, but my spirit’s not broken. We are going to be back.”
Some people at the vigil told The Charlotte Observer they’d eaten at Brooks’ since they were preteens, long before the area was called NoDa. “It means a lot. That was my uncle. He was a husband. He was a dad. So it means a lot that everybody’s out here,” Scott’s niece, Lauren Brooks Thorp, told The Observer.
On Saturday nights as young children, twins David and Scott Brooks would watch three things on TV: Mid Atlantic Championship wrestling, the nightly news and Lawrence Welk. “Dad would be making chili,” David said. “He’d be adding, subtracting, adding, subtracting. Finally he got it right and we’d have burgers every Saturday night. It was really a treat for us all.”
The chili was so good, they said you could put it on a bad sandwich and make it taste good.
In 1973, their father took a chance and opened up . Fast forward 45 years, and it has blossomed into a true family business, run by David and Scott, with David’s two children also working there.
David and Scott didn’t always plan to take over Brooks’ — David thought about getting into banking, and Scott went to law school for a brief stint. “After college, I was looking for a job, and my mother passed away that week,” David said. “We knew we couldn’t leave my dad.”
So when their dad offered, the brothers were all in and it has been this way ever since. They have watched NoDa grow up around them, seeing nearby mill houses transformed into $750,000 homes right before their eyes. They said they suppose people just really want to live by their burger place.
Scott Brooks works with his niece, Lauren Brooks, at Brooks’ Sandwich House, in August 2018. Scott Brooks was shot and killed on Monday morning as he attempted to open the restaurant for the day. Alex Cason
Their dad passed away a little over a year ago, but David and Scott have no plans to do anything different, except maybe expand the hours a bit. “My daughter is my manager and she has this idea that she wants to run this place, and we may just give her a chance,” David said.
The brothers themselves never had a food fight — with each other, anyway. “Last one I had was in Cullowhee and that was 1976. That’s when Animal House came out,” Scott said. “Toga parties and food fights — things fraternity brothers do.”
This story was originally published December 9, 2019 at 1:41 PM.
Melissa Oyler is the editor of CharlotteFive. When she’s not writing or editing, you’ll find her running, practicing hot yoga, weightlifting or snuggling with her rescue dogs, X and Charlie. Find her on Instagram or X: @melissaoyler.Support my work with a digital subscription
