Pinky Cole

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Pinky Cole
Pinky Cole InvestFest 2023.png
Cole in 2023
Born
Aisha Cole

(1987-12-08) December 8, 1987 (age 37)
Baltimore, Maryland
NationalityAmerican
OccupationRestaurateur
Known forSlutty Vegan restaurant

Aisha "Pinky" Cole (born December 8, 1987) [1] is an American restaurateur. She is the owner and operator of Slutty Vegan, a plant-based burger restaurant chain in Atlanta, Georgia. [1] In 2023, she was added to the Time magazine 100 Next list, recognizing individuals with an outsized influence on American culture. [2] [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Cole was born and raised in Baltimore. [4] Her parents are Jamaican immigrants and Rastafarians; [5] her mother Ichelle Cole is a musician in the reggae group Strykers' Posse and follows the traditional Rastafarian vegetarian diet. Her mother is a wealth adviser at PNC Bank [1] [6] Her father served prison time for the first 20 years of her life and was then deported to Jamaica. [1] [7] Cole became a vegetarian in 2007, and a vegan in 2014. [1] [8]

Cole received her bachelor's degree from Clark Atlanta University. [9] [10] She was elected “Miss CAU” in 2008 and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. [11] After college, Cole moved first to Los Angeles to become an actress, and then to New York to work in television production. [1] [12] In 2010, she moved to Los Angeles and worked as a producer on the reality show Judge Karen’s Court. [6] She left television briefly to launch a Harlem restaurant. In 2016, Cole moved back to Atlanta and worked as a casting director for programs such as Iyanla: Fix My Life . [1] [10]

Career

Restaurateur

Pinky’s Jamaican and American Restaurant opened in 2014. It was Cole's first restaurant. It operated in Harlem for two years, until she shuttered it in 2016 after a grease fire. [1] [4]

Cole on Sister Circle in 2018 Pinky Cole on Sister Circle.jpg
Cole on Sister Circle in 2018

In July 2018, Cole sold her first vegan burgers through delivery apps [13] and opened the Slutty Vegan food truck in September of that year. [1] In January 2019, she opened the first Slutty Vegan brick-and-mortar restaurant in the Westview neighborhood of Atlanta. [1] In 2023, Slutty Vegan had 11 locations in Georgia, New York City, Birmingham, Ala., and Dallas. [6]

Cole was inspired to create the vegan restaurant Slutty Vegan due to her own cravings for vegan junk food. [10] All of Slutty Vegan's products are titled with some form of sexual connotation, including "One Night Stand," "Fussy Hussy," "Sloppy Toppy," and "Chick'N Head". [14]

The Slutty Vegan restaurants have gone on to garner media attention and recognition. In 2023, Time Magazine named her to their 100NEXT List, noting her dedicated following of fans and the impact she has had on the image of vegan cuisine. [15] In 2024, VegNews listed Cole as one of the "17 Black Vegan Chefs Redefining Plant-Based Food and Community." [16]

Slutty Vegan has faced criticism for high prices and its aggressive approach to growth and expansion. [17] In 2024, facing financial struggles Cole attributes to high levels of corporate debt, the company underwent a restructuring with her relinquishing ownership. She eventually bought back the company, promising to change how the company is run. [18] Following the restructuring, Slutty Vegan now operates on a franchising model. [19]

On November 11, 2022, Pinky Cole was named alongside three others in a lawsuit filed by an ex-employee of Bar Vegan against the restaurant. The employee alleged that the restaurant was withholding wages from her in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. [20] The case was eventually settled, but according to the plantiff's lawyers (as of April 2025), Cole failed to pay the amount agreed to in the settlement. [21]

Slutty Vegan has also been sued by Asana Partners LLC for an amount totaling over $87,000 in unpaid rent, late fees, and interest. [22] Asana Partners LLC owns the properties in Atlanta which host both Slutty Vegan and Cole's The Morning After restaurant.

Other ventures

In November 2022, Cole published a cookbook titled Eat Plants, B*tch: 91 Vegan Recipes That Will Blow Your Meat-Loving Mind. [23] VegNews listed it as one of the "Top 100 Vegan Cookbooks of All Time" in 2024. [24] She has also published a self-help book titled I Hope You Fail, which draws from her experiences as a restaurateur. [25]

Cole also runs her own philanthropic organization, The Pinky Cole Foundation, which focuses on providing financial support and educational programs for children of color. [26] She has also on multiple occasions provided financial assistance to students of her alma mater, Clark Atlanta University. [27] [28]


Personal life

Cole met entrepreneur Derrick Hayes in 2020. The couple became engaged on July 2, 2022, and married on June 10, 2023 at The St. Regis Hotel in Atlanta. The ceremony was covered by the New York Times . [6] Hayes is the owner of Big Dave's Cheesesteaks, a non-vegan cheesesteak restaurant based in Atlanta. [29] They have a daughter, D'Ella (born 2021), and son, Derrick Jr. (born 2022). Hayes has two daughters from a previous relationship, Dallas and Denver. At their 2023 wedding, the couple announced Cole was pregnant and they are expecting a third child, a boy, in December. [30]


References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Severson, Kim (July 1, 2019). "A Naughty Name, a Virtuous Menu and a Line Down the Block". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  2. ↑ Boyce, Hunter. "Slutty Vegan's Pinky Cole makes TIME 100 Next list". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN   1539-7459 . Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  3. ↑ "How We Chose the 2023 TIME100 Next". Time. September 13, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Solomon, Micah. "The Slutty Vegan: Young, African American Founder Pinky Cole's Wild Success With Playful Vegan Food". Forbes. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  5. ↑ Grant, Jasmine (July 3, 2019). "Going Green: Slutty Vegan Founder Pinky Cole Is On A Mission To Get Us Eating Cleaner". Essence. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Gorce, Tammy La (June 14, 2023). "A Vegan Restaurateur and a Meat Connoisseur Find 'No Ordinary Love'". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Black-owned vegan restaurants are spicing up Southern cuisine". www.theadvertiser.com. February 11, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  8. ↑ Shigley, Debra (March 14, 2019). "How Pinky Cole used Instagram to make Slutty Vegan's burgers a viral hit IRL". Atlanta Magazine. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Slutty Vegan Founder Pinky Cole Dishes on Success of Viral Eatery, Celeb Customers and How She Hit It Big". Atlanta Black Star. January 14, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  10. 1 2 3 France, Lisa Respers (August 6, 2019). "Slutty Vegan restaurant a plant-based burger sensation". CNN. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Pinky Cole's 'Slutty Vegan' is vegan food meat eaters can love | The Atlanta Voice". The Atlanta Voice | Atlanta GA News. January 10, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  12. ↑ "How This Newbie Restauranteur Started a Vegan Revolution in Atlanta". Essence. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  13. ↑ Brittany Shivers (July 4, 2022). "Q&A: Pinky Cole discusses Slutty Vegan in Athens". The Red & Black.
  14. ↑ "Slutty Vegan | Best Vegan Restaurant in Atlanta, GA | Black Owned". The Slutty Vegan Atlanta. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  15. ↑ "2023 TIME100 Next: Pinky Cole". Time. September 13, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  16. ↑ Flink, Tanya (February 19, 2024). "The Top 100 Vegan Cookbooks of All Time". VegNews . Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  17. ↑ "'It Was a Sinking Ship': Pinky Cole Accused of Doing 'Damage Control' for 'Slutty Vegan 2.0' as She Claims Being Blindsided by Spelman Location Shutdown Amid Students Complaints About Pricey Burgers". Atlanta Black Star. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  18. ↑ "'Slutty Vegan Owner Pinky Cole Has a New Outlook After Losing Her Business — and Almost Her Life (Exclusive)". People Mag. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  19. ↑ "'S Pinky Cole Had to Buy Back Her Business—Now She's Franchising Slutty Vegan". Franchise Times. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Slutty Vegan owner sued by ex-employee over alleged unpaid wages". FOX 5 Atlanta. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Restaurant founded by Pinky Cole hasn't paid legal settlement, lawyer says". The Atlanta-Journal Constitution. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Slutty Vegan's Pinky Cole sued over rent at Edgewood Avenue stores". FOX 5 Atlanta. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  23. ↑ "Slutty Vegan CEO Talks New Cookbook, Plans to Go Global". US News. November 14, 2022.
  24. ↑ Pointing, Charlotte (January 10, 2024). "The Top 100 Vegan Cookbooks of All Time". VegNews . Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  25. ↑ "I Hope You Fail: Ten Hater Statements Holding You Back from Getting Everything You Want" . Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  26. ↑ "About the Pinky Cole Foundation". The Pinky Foundation.
  27. ↑ Najja Parker, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Slutty Vegan owner helps pay tuition of 30 Clark Atlanta students". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  28. ↑ "Slutty Vegan founder Pinky Cole gifts LLC to every member of Clark Atlanta graduating class". May 14, 2022.
  29. ↑ Ogunsola, Jennifer (January 18, 2022). "Pinky Cole And Derrick Hayes Are Hot In The Kitchen On ESSENCE Jan/Feb Cover". Essence . Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  30. ↑ Newmark, Avery. "Atlanta food power couple welcome first baby". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
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