’A big blow to the city.’ Iconic NoDa restaurant owner shot, killed

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - One of the owners of Charlotte-staple Brooks’ Sandwich House was shot and killed while opening up the restaurant early Monday morning, police say.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say they were called to a shooting at the walk-up restaurant on N. Brevard Street at N. Davidson Street around 5 a.m. Officers say they found 61-year-old Scott Allen Brooks fatally shot.

Around 6 a.m., police said they were investigating Brook’s death as a homicide. They have not released any information about a possible suspect or a possible motive.

CMPD spoke to reporters at the scene early Monday morning. They are offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.

“It appears the employee, or an employee of the business, was beginning his day and was confronted by some unknown assailant,” a police spokesperson said.

“That’s a place where you’ll see everybody from Charlotte converged there. It’s an iconic type of place and a landmark, so… obviously a big blow to the city,” police said.

Scott Brooks ran Brooks’ Sandwich House along with his twin brother, David Brooks, for decades. Their father, Calvin “CT” Brooks Jr, founded the iconic restaurant on N. Brevard St. in 1973. Since then, they’ve helped develop the neighborhood surrounding their restaurant into the NoDa we know today.

Customers, friends and fellow business owners began showing up to pay their respects soon after the tragic news broke Monday, and they kept coming. They say Scott and the whole family were always willing to lend a hand to their neighbors.

“The Brooks family have been involved in NoDa for quite some time, they’re definitely an institution,” said Joe Kuhlmann, owner nearby business The Evening Muse. “Such a tragic thing that anybody deserved especially people who have been so kind to the community.”

Charlotte City Councilman Braxton Winston was one of those customers. Scott and David Brooks worked with Winston to donate family land for an affordable housing project.

“When I moved to Charlotte, I moved into a house right up the street. I’ve been coming here for a long time,” Winston said. "What so many of us feel, when these thing hit close to home - we have a problem. And the biggest problem is how we treat one another.”

Customers couldn’t imagine why someone would kill such a beloved figure.

“I’m trembling now,” said George Cam, who added that the Brooks brothers made him feel like family. “It’s hurting, knowing them as well as I knew them."

“People just killing, shooting, it’s just awful. I’ve never seen it like this before.”

Violent crime in the area is relatively low, with only a few assaults reported within a half mile of the sandwich shop in the last month.

“This isn’t Charlotte, it really isn’t," said customer Juandriquez Chambers, who’s been frequenting the restaurant since the 80s. "[In] Charlotte, you can walk down the street with no problems, there wasn’t no violence, not serious violence.”

GoFundMe has confirmed that a page has been set up to accept donations for the Brooks family during this time.

Anyone with further information about the shooting is urged to call 911 or Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.