Pinky Cole is an unstoppable force in the food industry. Since launching Slutty Vegan, a plant-based fast-food restaurant chain, in 2018, she’s been on a mission to make vegan food more accessible, affordable, and approachable. Already one of the foremost restaurateurs in the South, the Atlanta-based entrepreneur now has her eyes set on expansion outside the region.
Her passion to create a vegan restaurant that was not just for vegans, but for everyone who wanted a delicious, plant-based meal has paid off. Slutty Vegan is currently valued at $100 million, and Cole is opening 20 more locations after a successful Series A funding round.
The chain has become so popular that Cole was recently featured on the cover of Forbes magazine and included in the Create Cultivate 100 List for 2023. Below, she shares how she’s managed to grow her business so fast, without watering down what Slutty Vegan is at its core: a vegan restaurant that’s not just for vegans, but for everyone who wants a delicious, plant-based meal. Plus, her go-to SV order, and the best advice she has for entrepreneurs looking to scale multiple projects at once.
If feels like Slutty Vegan isn’t just hitting its stride—it’s full on sprinting—when it comes to scaling the business. How are you maintaining your brand identity in the face of such fast-pace growth?
I don't do anything without having fun. I’m very intentional about doing the things that I want to do. No one can force or persuade me to do anything that makes me uncomfortable. I must feel it within my spirit. It must be fun for me. Being able to scale this business is fun, but work. I’m passionate about what I want to do and must always remain consistent in my movements.
Our community includes women at different entrepreneurial stages with various interests. Can you share your best advice on growing multiple projects linearly and outwardly at the same time?
Teams are the most important thing when growing businesses. You must have the right aces in places. I didn't always have that. I realized that you must have people that get it, have the experience and expertise, and the level of consistency. That's how I’m able to grow. I’m using my mind to diversify the businesses, but the people in those spaces run the company, and I oversee them.
What is your go to Slutty Vegan order?
Sloppy Toppy with jalapenos and pickles
You just hosted a wedding at your restaurant and officiated it! What inspired you to do this?
I thought, how cool would it be to have a wedding at an iconic location, a world-famous restaurant? We were lucky to find two amazing people who wanted to get married at our store, a landmark in Atlanta. We invited the world to participate via Instagram. I’m happy because it will forever go down in history. They made history and didn't realize it. What a dope way to market the brand.
What people may or may not realize about you is that, in addition to being a restaurateur, you’re also a passionate advocate for social justice through the Pinky Cole Foundation. Can you tell us more about your work there?
I started the Pinky Cole Foundation in 2019. It was a way for me to bridge the generational wealth gap. I like to help people. It's not just community service; I like to see other people win. So building the foundation was the formal way to do that. We’ve done a lot since launching—we've given money, donated fruits and vegetables to those in need, given salaries, purchased cars, given students LLCs, and so on. That is what is most rewarding to me. The restaurant is fun, and seeing people happy is fun. What gets me going is knowing that people can execute their dreams and win by way of the foundation.