Renowned Restaurateur Pinky Cole Buys Back Slutty Vegan After Major Turmoil

When a mattress smashed through Pinky Cole’s windshield on a Georgia highway, the irony wasn’t lost on her. She was driving 70 miles per hour when it hit all fast, unexpected, and violently disruptive. A near-fatal collision that mirrored the trajectory of her business life.

“It was like Final Destination,” she said. 

For the celebrated entrepreneur behind Slutty Vegan, the viral plant-based fast food brand, it marked a turning point both personally and professionally.

A Rocky Year and A Hard Reset

Cole had been having what she calls “a really rocky 2024.” Financial pressures were mounting. Slutty Vegan, once a fast-growing darling of the food world with celebrity endorsements and lines around the block, was buckling under the weight of its own success.

The brand had scaled rapidly across states, campuses, and platforms. But beneath the viral energy was a growing problem: costs. 

“Our corporate overhead was about $10 million. I was chasing something that I couldn’t catch for so many reasons,” she stated.

That unsustainable chase forced her hand. On February 13, Slutty Vegan underwent a global restructuring that led Cole to relinquish full ownership to an assignee. A move she resisted for months.

“I fought it for a long time, to be honest, and I didn’t want to do it,” she confessed. She didn’t want the public scrutiny. She didn’t want to be seen as a failure. “I could have easily gone to social media and did a rally cry for help,” she said. “But I didn’t want to be a victim.”

Instead, she did what high-impact founders do best. She went into strategy mode.

Lessons Learned in Leadership

In hindsight, she’s candid about the role she played. Cole admitted that she “wasn’t the operational person,” and had others in place to run Slutty Vegan from a business perspective. But she learned a hard truth: “You can never take your hands off the wheel.”

It’s the kind of wisdom Cole has come to embrace, and that’s the messy, honest side of entrepreneurship.

“There’s going to be a couple of left turns that you’re going to make, you’re going to make a couple of U-turns,” she said of her business journey. “There’s going to be some speed bumps in the road. Somebody’s going to throw a mattress at you, but that is not reason enough to give up.”

The Rebirth of Slutty Vegan

On March 28, Cole bought her company back through a new corporate entity. It wasn’t just a business transaction, it was a reclamation.

Now she’s focused on what she calls Slutty Vegan 2.0. The refreshed vision comes with “new rules and new intentions,” she says. And while the menu and mission stay rooted in culture and community, the structure behind it is tighter, leaner, and more intentional.

“People love Slutty Vegan because they love me,” she said. “And I used to not tap into that. But now I know—I have a superpower with people.”

And she’s using it.

Rebuilding on Her Terms

Cole’s return isn’t just about regaining Slutty Vegan ownership. It’s a reset of the brand’s foundation and future direction.

Global expansion is also back on the table. Dubai and Africa are in early discussions, and licensing models are being explored too. She’s also doubling down on community, with plans to extend her hospitality empire alongside her husband, Derrick Hayes of Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks.

Together, they’re launching Hayes Hospitality Group, a family-powered umbrella to house their growing list of food ventures. Her spinoff lounge, Bar Vegan, is also on the roadmap for further development.

“I just want to sit back and watch all of the great brands that I build and create, be successful,” she said. “I just love to connect people and the community. And if I can do that by way of food, it’s a win-win for everybody.”

The Power of Authenticity

For Cole, the mattress through the windshield was a metaphor. A literal wake-up call that made her realize that you think you’re in control until you’re not.

“In life, we always worry about the things that really don’t matter until your life is on the line,” she said. “I have a newfound perspective on the things that I prioritize now after that accident.”

And now? She’s moving how she likes it.Call it intuition. Call it divine timing. Or just call it survival. Either way, Pinky Cole’s hands are firmly back on the wheel. And Slutty Vegan is back where it belongs, with the woman who made it impossible to ignore.