“Welcome, slut!” shouts a woman from behind the counter as three 30-something hipsters walk through the door of Atlanta’s popular Slutty Vegan fast-food restaurant. “Slut in the house!” yells one of her co-workers as she makes her way to the register to take the trio’s order.
Sitting at a nearby table in the vibrant establishment on a recent Saturday afternoon is founder and CEO Pinky Cole, who breaks from her interview to overlap with her employees with an enthusiastic “We’ve got a slut walking in!” Then, without skipping a beat—but returning to a lower, conversational tone—Cole continues with the interview as if she had not just loudly hurled what some might consider a verbal insult at her patrons.
It was clear the three diners had been to the trendy fast-food vegan eatery before, as they took the cheeky accusations in stride and smiled, clearly unfazed, as they placed their order from the menu that includes signature plant-based burgers with playful names like “One Night Stand,” “Sloppy Toppy,” and “Fussy Hussy,” and sides like “Slutty Fries” tossed in a signature “Slut Dust” seasoning.
VegNews caught up with the 38-year-old successful entrepreneur—who went from selling plant burgers from her two-bedroom apartment to selling them from a food truck to, in 2018, opening her first brick-and-mortar eatery at her flagship restaurant in Atlanta—to talk with her about her journey thus far, what she sees in her future, and yes, her foray into the world of reality TV.
Slutty Vegan
Juliet Pennington: How did you come up with the name Slutty Vegan?
Pinky Cole: I was sitting in my apartment, and it hit me like a light bulb. I was like, this is the one. I’ve got to run with it. And I have to admit, there was some medical marijuana involved.
JP: And now the restaurant has six locations under its belt plus it’s franchising. Did you ever think it would grow the way it has?
PC: I never, in my wildest dreams, imagined it could be this big. Sitting here at my flagship location, who would have thought that this location would turn into a cornerstone of vegan food in Atlanta? It’s a destination, like people come from all around the country—and all over the world, actually—to patronize my business. And that’s pretty cool. And since we announced that we were franchising, we’ve had more than 350 inquiries—and just signed our first one in Washington, DC. It’s very exciting.
JP: In addition to the restaurant, you run the Pinky Cole Foundation, a community-minded nonprofit committed to empowering other entrepreneurs. Tell us about that.
PC: I like seeing other people win. Slutty Vegan has forged a pathway to help entrepreneurs and put them in a position to have access to resources they need so they can win—and that’s a win for me; a 10 out of 10. We help people in all different circumstances, including entrepreneurs who want to build generational wealth, who have intentions to grow their businesses. That’s where we come in … we are a safe haven, a support system for them to be able to grow.
Bravo
JP: You’ve already achieved celebrity status in Atlanta, but your star is about to shine even brighter as the newest cast member on Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.” What was that experience like?
PC: It was incredible. I could tell that some of the women haven’t really been around people who are vegan, so they got a chance to understand my lifestyle—to see what I eat and what I don’t eat. And again, I think it goes back to people not knowing, right? They weren’t critical or judgmental; just unaware. They were interested in what I ate on a day-to-day basis and were worried about me not eating enough. I assured them that I eat enough (laughs), and I’m just excited that with this show, there will be more visibility on veganism. The vegan movement has had its challenges—like with some vegan restaurants closing in recent years—but I believe that being on the show is just another opportunity for me to reignite the momentum. There are still people who want to eat vegan, and don’t want to eat the flesh of an animal.
JP: Is there pressure knowing that you are essentially the face of veganism on this new, huge platform?
PC: It’s a big responsibility. I’m on a show that has 78 million viewers and my whole storyline is Slutty Vegan and talking about my lifestyle. Having this platform is an opportunity to really spread the message of veganism in a way that makes people comfortable and gets them talking about [food] options that they may have never considered before.
JP: Along with your thriving business, your philanthropic pursuits, and appearing on a reality TV show, you and your husband hospitality entrepreneur Derrick Hayes have five children. How do you juggle it all? Do you have any tips for other working parents who are trying to make it all work?
PC: Well first off, let’s call it what it is: insanity. You get really good at being insane when you have to. When you’re a mother and an entrepreneur, a wife, a sister, a friend … you have to do non-traditional stuff to make it work. You’ve got to get creative in how you show up for your children. For example, I started bringing my kids to work with me. As long as you show up every single day and do the best you can in every single area of your life, that’s enough. That’s more than enough.
Slutty Vegan
JP: What is it about your brand that you think appeals to so many people?
PC: I’m passionate about what I do and the impact it has—and people recognize that. I grew up with a Rastafarian mother and ate, I would say, 95 percent vegetarian. In 2007, I became fully vegetarian, and then vegan in 2013, and it just made sense to start a business that was in alignment with my values and make food that everyone—not just vegans—would like to eat. People really love my brand and most of the time, it’s people who do eat meat. That’s where the beauty comes in: carnivores who eat our food for the first time are like, ‘Oh crap, I really like this.’
JP: You’ve been open about how it hasn’t always been smooth sailing and how, in February, 2024, your business underwent a restructuring.
PC: It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.
I hit rock bottom. I built a $100 million brand and made the mistake of taking my hands off the wheel for a little bit. As a business owner, you can’t do that. But you know what, I needed this to happen.
Because when you restructure your company, you’re really starting from scratch, and you have to make sure to dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s. I’m still navigating it all in real time.
JP: You don’t seem like one to let setbacks stop you—you even released a book in 2023 called I Hope You Fail. How do you turn failure into something positive?
PC: Failure is really not failing at all. It’s really just batting practice. You’ve got to keep swinging because that’s the only way you’re going to get better. That’s not failing; that’s learning. That’s conditioning. I am in the business of conditioning.
JP: And in March of 2025, you bought your company back.
PC: I did, and the next dimension I’m moving into—I’m calling it Slutty Vegan 2.0—is exciting. I have a different level of fire in me and how I want to grow this company, because I know what it feels like not to have it. I have a concept that people love and respect and they still line up. They still get excited about my brand and, because of that, I know that I have something good and something that’s worth fighting for.
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Juliet Pennington is a Boston-based journalist and educator who is passionate about all-things vegan.
