Jack Hough, a restaurateur who specialized in concepts for airport locations, was shot and killed last Friday in Gainesville, Ga., while waiting for his wife to exit a CVS Pharmacy. He was 73 years old.
Police say Hough was killed by a 24-year-old man who was apparently planning to rob Hough. The two struggled before the suspect, DeMarvin Bennett, allegedly fired two shots. The authorities say both rounds hit Hough in the torso. He had not gotten out of his car.
Bennett was arrested Sunday for “malicious murder,” among other charges.
Hough was president of MSE Branded Foods, the company he started with Pete Wenzell in 2000, when airports were rapidly replacing their generic food and beverage outlets with units of big-name chains, well-known retail brands and popular local operations.
Hough chose that specialty after serving as a pioneer of nontraditional siting through the 1990s. He was known for assembling quick-service stations into food courts for shopping malls and travel centers.
Earlier, he operated a number of restaurants in Helen, Ga.
In addition to his wife, who was not hurt in the attack, he is survived by his son, Brandon.