Hooters chairman heads group interested in Vanguard Airlines

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - An investors group - headed by an Atlanta businessman who heads up Hooters restaurants - is interested in Vanguard Airlines, the Kansas City-based discount carrier that shut down and filed for bankruptcy last month. <br> <br> The airline filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors on July 30. The company abruptly stopped all flights and laid off most of its 1,100 employees. <br> <br> The investors group is led by Robert H- Brooks, an Atlanta businessman and chairman of Hooters of America Incorporated. Vanguard said last week that in a last-ditch attempt to resume operations it was in negotiations with an investor it did not then identify. <br> <br> In a statement issued Tuesday, Brooks said ``We are seriously considering an investment in Vanguard Airlines.&#39;&#39; Brooks added that his group had already committed to provide limited interim funding to the crippled airline in the hopes of keeping it operational. <br> <br> The Hooters chain, known for waitresses wearing tight orange shorts and low-cut T-shirts, operates restaurants in 315 locations around the world.