- After losing my 2016 restaurant to a grease-fire, I founded Slutty Vegan.
- In just one year, I opened my very first brick-and mortar store in Atlanta. Soon, it was expanded to several other locations.
- My company is now valued at $100 Million with investments from business giants.
This is an as-told to essay based upon a conversation with Pinky Cole, a restaurateur. It has been edited for clarity and length.
I come from very humble beginnings – meaning no money. The idea for Slutty Vegan came to me after my first restaurant — Pinky’s Jamaican and American Restaurant in Harlem — was destroyed in a grease fire in 2016. After losing my business, I was left broke and had begun working as a TV producer.
I have moved back to Atlanta looking to find the next chapter. Slutty Vegan was created in 2018: Food and sex are the best experiences in life.
My restaurant business is now worth at least $1.5 million. I am not a qualified chef. $100 million, eight locations, four food trucks and a sister business. I am 34 years old and have multi-million-dollar investments from Richelieu Dennis, founder of Essence Ventures, and Danny Meyer, restaurateur. a seven-figure book deal. When I started my business, I didn’t have one and I don’t now.
I can’t stop being creative.
My parents are Jamaican immigrants and I was raised in Baltimore. My father was sentenced for 22 years in prison when I was born. As a result, I watched my mother do a nine-to-5 job and also work as an entrepreneur.
I followed her and became an entrepreneur — selling candy and food — at a very early age. It was something I knew I couldn’t do. I set out to create the life I desired.
After graduating from Clark Atlanta University I moved to Los Angeles in order to be an actress. That didn’t work out, so I became a television producer, which landed me in New York working on a few television shows – including Maury and Iyanla: Fix My Life.
I opened the first Harlem restaurant in 2014. I lost it in 2016. In 2016, I moved back home to Atlanta. I ran five miles every day and read so many books. Even though I didn’t know what it was, I was ready to go.
Even though I was supposed to be in Atlanta for a short time, the idea of opening a new restaurant struck me. In 2018. In 2018, I was craving late-night vegan snacks so I began writing down ideas. When Slutty Vegan first appeared to me, I thought, “Oh, slutty and vegan don’t mix well together. But I can make them work together and create something really cool.” That’s exactly what I did.
It was supposed to be a ghost kitchen in Atlanta— only cooking food to be delivered — but I had a food truck by September 2018 and my first brick-and-mortar by January 2019.
Jordan Hart/Insider
I’m THAT vegan girl – for real
My mother, a Rastafarian, has made me a vegetarian all my life. I went vegan in 2014. Being vegan allowed me to create a company that is authentic to me.
I am able to show people that vegan comfort food is possible. Customers can order burgers from the “Sloppy Toppy.” — with our signature toppings plus jalapeños — or the “Super Slut,” which comes with the same toppings plus guacamole.
I am introducing vegan food to people in a fun and familiar way. Veganism is often seen as expensive or difficult to access, but it’s now the most accessible option.
My idea is not sexually explicit, even though it sounds provocative. I was just trying to get people’s attention, and to start a conversation about vegan foods. If it was called “Pinky’s Vegan Burgers & Fries”, nobody would have come.
I was truly lucky
New York was my choice for my first Slutty Vegan store outside of the South, as it is representative of the entire United States. My Brooklyn store is one of the most successful, because there are so many people.
2019 was the year I launched the Pinky Cole Foundation, which has created education programs, hosted food drives, and given back to the students of my alma mater.
I didn’t go into culinary school and I am confident in everything I do, even without a business structure. It never gets boring to me. It is amazing.
I love surprises so I won’t reveal too much. We are opening new locations and plan to enter the television and film industries. This opportunity is too valuable so I am throwing everything at it to see what sticks.
