Robert L. Brock
Robert L. Brock | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 27, 1924 Pawnee Rock, Kansas, U.S |
| Died | June 7, 1998 (aged 73) Dallas, Texas, U.S |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Founding of ShowBiz Pizza Place |
| Political party | Democratic |
Robert Lee Brock (December 27, 1924[1] – June 7, 1998) was an American businessman. He was born in Pawnee Rock, Kansas, and graduated from Sterling High School and the University of Kansas, where he was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity.[2]
He started "Inn Operations" with a friend and sold it to Holiday Inns, Inc., to manage "Topeka Inn Management". As chairman of TIM (later renamed Brock Hotel Corporation), the first and at the time largest franchisee of Holiday Inns, he founded ShowBiz Pizza Place in 1980 in Topeka, Kansas after becoming a Pizza Time Theatre franchisee.[3][4] He also started The Residence Inn line of hotels with Jack DeBoer. Marriott later bought the brand and renamed all locations "Residence Inn by Marriott".[5]
ShowBiz Pizza Place Inc. later superseded Pizza Time Theatre Inc. after SPP bought the PTT assets and intellectual property in 1984. All SPP stores were renamed Chuck E. Cheese's by 1994. In 1998 ShowBiz Pizza Place Inc. was renamed CEC Entertainment Inc., and continues to do business under this name.
He died on June 7, 1998 in Dallas, Texas.[1] [6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Obituary from Kansas Historical Society "Robert Brock". Kansas Historical Society. Retrieved 2017-12-19.
Born: December 27, 1924, Pawnee Rock, Kansas.
- ^ "125 Influencers". The Teke. Vol. 117, no. 1. Tau Kappa Epsilon. Spring 2024. pp. 12–18. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
- ^ Showbiz Pizza Place College materials
- ^ "History of CEC Entertainment, Inc. – FundingUniverse". www.fundinguniverse.com.
- ^ Now and then: The history of Residence Inn
- ^ Lew Ferguson (June 9, 1998). "Longtime Democratic booster Brock dies of cancer 06/09/98". CJ Online National News. Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved 2014-12-30.
External links
[edit]- CJ Online's T-Town News (Dead)