Here’s when Brooks’ Sandwich House will reopen
A little more than a month after the shooting death of Brooks’ Sandwich House co-owner Scott Brooks, his twin brother, David, stood in the parking lot of the family restaurant and announced a piece of good news after weeks of sadness: He will reopen the restaurant on Feb. 1.
For the modest red-bricked building in NoDa serving up cheeseburgers all the way (including its famous chili) day in and day out, the past several weeks weren’t supposed to be this way.
That gravel lot in a quiet corner of the neighborhood — preserved for decades even throughout light rail construction, new home construction and townhomes galore — was changed forever in the early hours of Dec. 9, 2019, as Scott Brooks arrived to open his eatery for the day.
It was something he’d done time and time again over the years. He wasn’t supposed to die doing it.
On Thursday, Jan. 16, David Brooks addressed a crowd at the restaurant for the second time in two months. The first was the same night his brother was shot to death; police are still looking for two assailants. The restaurant’s closing would not be forever, David had promised mourners. “My heart’s broken, but my spirit’s not broken,” he said then. “We are going to be back.”
The second speech brought a glimmer of hope after a season of tragedy: In just a couple of weeks, Brooks’ will be back. “It’s amazing to see everybody come together with Scott, and I think Scott would be really proud,” said Lauren Brooks, Scott’s niece.
But healing will take time.
“The fact that Scott was murdered here is very hard for us. We can’t do this without you. When you’re here, please don’t ask us about the case,” Lauren said.
Also, bear with the fact that there will be a learning curve without Scott. “We still only have one fryer, one grill, and now we only have one twin. We’re just going to do everything we can to get to know every single one of you guys that has loved on us and helped us.”
A few changes are in store. Brooks’ will no longer serve breakfast. Its regular hours will change to 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday, after the reopening on a Saturday — a day it’s usually closed.
“Everyone will get here at the same time from now on. We’re going to be a lot safer,” Lauren said.
A community connected over chili cheeseburgers and family
Scott Brooks died going to work, where he would have been doing what he loved.
What he loved was making and feeding the people of Charlotte the chili that his father had worked so hard to perfect when the identical twins were growing up.
As young children, David and Scott would watch three things on TV: Mid Atlantic Championship wrestling, the nightly news and Lawrence Welk. “Dad would be making chili,” David told CharlotteFive in 2018. “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, the twins swore you could put it on a bad sandwich and make it taste good. So, of course, it was only right their dad, Calvin “CT” Brooks Jr., opened Brooks’ Sandwich House in 1973, creating a place that the community has adored for decades.
Some people at December’s vigil told The Charlotte Observer they’d eaten at Brooks’ since they were preteens, long before the area was called NoDa.
We’ve had a long relationship with this place.
A community connected over sadness and a desire to help
The Brooks family did more than give us good food, good company and nationally recognized burgers. David and Scott donated 2.1 acres to help Charlotte’s affordable housing crisis earlier this year. Habitat for Humanity will build townhomes on their donated land. It only makes sense that our community in mourning would want to do everything it could to help the Brooks family.
So it’s no surprise that Charlotte showed up in droves over the past several weeks.
The reward for information leading to an arrest in Scott’s shooting started at $5,000. Thanks to an extra $6,000 given by local organizations, plus $10,000 from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the reward has been raised to $21,000.
Many of the craft breweries in NoDa and surrounding neighborhoods decided to brew a beer in memory of Scott. “We wanted to find a way to pay our respects to the family and to celebrate Scott’s life; it makes sense to brew a Pale Lager, his favorite beer style,” said Mike Salzarulo of Protagonist.
Several members of local breweries and a Habitat for Humanity representative showed up to support the Brooks family during Thursday’s announcement. They lined up silently, each wearing their local brewery’s T-shirts.
A NoDa artist who goes by Stencil Spray created a stencil of Scott’s face and placed art around NoDa in his memory. The Brooks family has asked him to enlarge the stenciled image of Scott and paint it on the back of the restaurant’s building.
On Thursday, Glory Days Apparel announced it is partnering with the Brooks family for a T-shirt created in Scott’s memory. It features Scott’s mantra, “Too blessed to be stressed.” Shirts can be purchased via its website, and proceeds will go to Habitat for Humanity to benefit the land donated by the family.
“I am absolutely overwhelmed with the support,” David said.
On Feb. 1, expect long lines, empty stomachs and full emotions.
On Feb. 1, the restaurant will be open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Get ready for what will likely be the longest restaurant line ever, and here’s why that’s a good thing: Every person waiting with an empty belly and a full heart represents everything the shop has ever stood for. You could almost hear Scott now behind the counter, telling his regulars: “I’m too blessed to be stressed.”
This story was originally published January 16, 2020 at 1:05 PM.
