About

Richard and his wife, Mrs. Tweak, are the very proud owners of Tweek Bros. Coffee, an independent coffee shop in South Park, and they also have a son named Tweek Tweak. When they were younger, Richard competed with other boys for her affections, but she only had eyes for him. They spend much of their time today managing their coffee shop, and take pride in providing the people of the town with that first fresh cup of coffee every morning… even if it has an infamous ‘raw sewage’ taste. Richard loves to remind his customers that Tweek coffee is brewed locally, but has a habit of becoming lost in metaphors about how his coffee is fresh like the dew in the grass after the sunrise, fresh like a rushing stream… fresh, local coffee, brewed locally.

The same nature that causes Richard to be a capable businessman and advertising spokesman often interferes with his family life, in stark contrast to his son’s anxiety and his wife’s calm empathy. When he’s ready to pursue something, Richard will throw himself into it with a laser sharp focus, and can often become overzealous, but can become inattentive of everything else, including his family’s needs, often prioritizing his momentary goal, such as defeating business competition or promoting a product, over his family’s discomfort. Despite this absent-minded nature, he does care about his wife and son and once he recognizes their feelings, he will try to make amends for them.

Although neither of them is nearly as jittery as their son, both Richard and his wife themselves can become paranoid about his future and safety, and their attempts to prepare him him for troubling situations can backfire spectacularly. Since Tweek was ‘outed’ as a homosexual, Richard has never been more supportive of proud of his little homosexual son or his boyfriend, even when his son would rather he not bring it up.

Personality and Traits

Inattentiveness

Although Mr. Tweak cares deeply for his family, he is nonetheless often inadvertently dismissive towards them, often too engrossed in his own actions to notice or acknowledge their feelings to their satisfaction. For example, he disregards his wife’s concerns about the morality of using children to advance his anti-corporate agenda, and is often shown minimizing or ignoring his son’s concerns about such things as Underpants Gnomes or the North Korean regime, sometimes alongside his wife. When he discovers his son is homosexual, he admits that he thought of him as only a “spazz”, but promises to be a better father in the future. This dismissive behavior extends to other townspeople, such as his casual dismissal of Stuart McCormick’s defense of Priest Maxi because of Stuart’s son having died.

Radicalism

All three members of the Tweak family seem to exhibit paranoia in the face of uncertainty, but while their son often falls upon anxiety as a result, Richard often responds with radical or elaborate solutions. The most notable example is during the early stages of the child abduction scare, when he impersonated an armed police officer to educate his son about child abduction, a markedly more radical solution than any of the other parents would enact until after the arrest of Frederick Johnson for an attempted abduction.

Lack of Ethics

During his campaign to ban small business from town, Richard exhibited a lack of concern for ethics, citing that “all is fair” in love and war, and coffee. He felt using Tweek and his friends to campaign against big business and funded exploitive commercials suggesting opponents of the ban hate children.

Notable Skills

Business Sense

Richard has exhibited various skills associated with being an effective salesman, primarily relating to persuasion, both to interest customers as well as to garner support his campaign against big business. While the other parental characters are rarely depicted as very involved in their careers, Mr. Tweak is dedicated to continuing the Tweek Bros. Coffee legacy and seems relatively quick to consider just about anything in business terms. This business understanding is so innate that he often dips into his trademark salesman “metaphors” without even realizing it, painting vivid images and advertising to nobody in particular. His shrewdness, however, also shows in his willingness to use the boys’ report on current events to push an anti-corporate angle in “Gnomes”, as well as his habit of drumming up his son’s sexuality.

Memorable Quotes

• “All is fair in love and war… and coffee." (Gnomes)
• "The answer is still no, Mr. Postem. You see, when my father opened this store thirty years ago, he cared about only one thing: making a great cup of coffee. Sure, we may take a little longer to brew a cup, and we may not call it fancy names, but I guess we just care a little more. And that's why Tweek Coffee is still home-brewed from the finest beans we can muster. Yes, Tweek Coffee is a simpler cup, for a simpler America. " (Gnomes)
• "It’s subtle and mild. Mild like that first splash of sun on an April Morning. This coffee is coffee the way it should be..." (Gnomes)
• "Well, sure, that's easy for you to say; your son's dead. But those of us with alive children need to be sure that Father Maxi's on the up-and-up." (Red Hot Catholic Love)
• "Bang, you're dead, Tweek." (Child Abduction is Not Funny)
• "We thought you were just a spazz, but to know that you've got so much going on inside..." (Tweek x Craig)

Catchphrases

• "They really have my balls in a vice grip." and variations. (debuted in "Gnomes")

Design and Outfits

Standing about average height with a light Caucasian skin tone, with a mild double chin as well as prominent ears and a noticeably large nose. He has short, curly light brown hair and roughly average eyebrows. His usual outfit is blue pants and a brownish red sweater with a dark blue trim near his neck. During the first five seasons, he almost always wore a bright blue nametag labelled 'Mr. Tweek' on the left side of his chest.

Family

Richard and Mrs. Tweak began dating while still young, and she was considered "very attractive" at that age, forcing Richard to overcome rivals for her affection, such as a bully named Quib. Today, they both want what is best for their son and business, but are stubborn when they disagree. He used to think his son was just a spazz, but today he's very proud of every stride his little homosexual son makes.

As the coffeehouse is named ‘Tweek Bros. Coffee’, and was founded by his father, it can be surmised he has an uncle. This is very unlikely though, due to the name more of the coffeehouse more than likely being a business decision.

Close Friends

While Richard doesn't seem particularly close to anybody else in town, he seems to be relatively friendly with the other boys' fathers, as well as other members of their social groups, such as Jimbo Kern and Herbert Garrison.

Rivals

Although Richard has mostly friendly relationships with the other men in town, but he has had the occasion rival. A football player named Quib challenged him for his future wife's affections in his school years, and more recently he found a rival in businessman John Postem, who sought to open a Harbucks Coffeehouse in town, at one point settling on directly next to the Tweaks' shop. After a bitter campaign, they eventually settled their differences - although the exact details are unknown, Tweek Bros. Coffee remains active to this day.

Affiliations

Richard has maintained friendships with the other fathers in town for a long time, and while he is not one of the more vocal members, they nonetheless follow many of the same trends and attend the same social activities, most notably their annual Witch Week, where they drink Jack Daniels and do crack cocaine in the woods.

Residence

The Tweaks live across the street from the Marsh family in the main neighborhood. Their home was redecorated significantly between the sixth and nineteenth seasons.

Workplace

Most of the time, the Tweaks can both be found working at their coffee shop, brewing fresh coffee for customers and providing free wi-fi. Richard can usually be found handling the register and interacting with customers, but has been known to check on the back room where his son works. He also plays a role in advertising, where he uses his trademark weird metaphors.

Appearances and Sightings

Featured Episodes

• Gnomes (s02e17; debut)
• Tweek Vs. Craig (s03e04)
• Hooked on Monkey Fonics (s03e13; cameo)
• Proper Condom Use (s05e07)
• Red Hot Catholic Love (s06e08)
• Free Hat (s06e10)
• Child Abduction is Not Funny (s06e11)
• The Death Camp of Tolerance (s06e14; cameo)
• South Park Is Gay (s07e09)
• It's Christmas in Canada (s07e15; cameo)
• The Losing Edge (s09e05)
• Smug Alert! (s010e02)
• Mystery of the Urinal Deuce (s10e09)
• 201 (s14e06)
• Stunning and Brave (s19e01; cameo)
• The City Part of Town (s19e03; cameo)
• Tweek x Craig (s19e06)
• Naughty Ninjas (s19e07; cameo)
• Put it Down (s21e02)
• Franchise Prequel (s21e04)
• Sons a Witches (s21e06; cameo)

Background Appearances

• Sarcastaball (s16e08)

Video Games

South Park: The Stick of Truth

When the player visits Tweek Bros. Coffee, Richard is present at the shop working the main register and acting as the main vender. He and his wife can be added as a friend if the player buys a special "Ultra Speed Potion" coffee roast from the Tweek Bros. Coffee shop.

He also makes a small appearance in the storyline when the player is tasked with assisting in the coffee shop's special delivery, proclaiming proudly that the coffee beans used are farmed fresh by "local tweekers", seeming to confirm that Tweekers' blend coffee beans are prepared by methamphetamine users. (see 'Drug Usage' below)

South Park: The Fractured But Whole

Richard is present in the coffee shop once more, still working the main cash register as a vender. While both he and his wife are worried about Tweek's recent breakup, Richard is willing to perform a selfie with the player relatively quickly, even before his son's relationship is mended.

Behind the Scenes

Since his debut in season 2's "Gnomes", the voice of Richard Tweak has been provided by series co-creator Trey Parker, who uses a voice with only a slightly higher pitch than his normal speaking voice. Mr. Tweak also had a slower, calmer tone in some of his early appearances, similar to his wife.

While father and son characters are often voiced by the same actor, Tweek is instead voiced by series co-creator Matt Stone.

Bonus Factoids

• In his early appearances, such as “Gnomes” and “Tweek Vs. Craig”, Richard has a trademark theme music that plays in the background, slow and soothing, just like his metaphors.
• He does not appear alongside his wife in “Informative Murder Porn”, unlike the other couples seen, suggesting that he has a less active sex drive in comparison to her.

Myths & Legends

• In crowd scenes featuring homosexual characters, such as "Follow That Egg!", Mr. Tweek's metrosexual appearance has been used as a background character, though it is sometimes altered to differentiate from the regular character.

What's in a Name?

see Tweek Tweak

Richard's nametag and coffeehouse both display the spelling 'Tweek' within the show, but this is most likely a business decision. Press materials and other props have reserved that spelling for the son, and used the 'Tweak' spelling as a family surname. Co-creator Matt Stone has also confirmed 'Tweak' as the correct spelling.

Drug Usage

In South Park: The Stick of Truth, the player is tasked to bring the daily "special delivery" to Tweek Bros. Coffee from the McCormick Residence, and is directed to a room behind the garage. After defeating the occupants in their meth lab for the delivery and bringing it back to the coffeehouse in exchange for Tweek's freedom, Richard checks out the coffee beans and seems to confirm that meth users brew the coffee on a regular basis. This has not been referenced in the show to date.

Alongside the boys' other fathers, Richard is also depicted using crack cocaine casually in "Sons a Witches", suggesting desensitization of some or all of the men towards addictive drugs in general.