18 hours Ago By Rohit Mehta
Slutty Vegan founder Pinky Cole has reclaimed control of her plant-based burger empire following a tumultuous period marked by financial duress and a harrowing near-death experience. According to a recent interview with People, Cole faced a staggering $10 million corporate overhead that pushed her to temporarily hand over ownership of her business in February. The savvy entrepreneur didn't let that set her back for long, as last Friday, she managed to buy back Slutty Vegan for an undisclosed sum.
Amid these business struggles, driving at 70 mph on an Atlanta highway, a mattress unexpectedly smashed into Cole's windshield. When recalling the incident to People, she equated it to a Hollywood fright, saying, "It was like Final Destination." This accident led to a hospital trip and forced Cole to reconsider her priorities.
She now fosters a "newfound perspective on the things that I prioritize now after that accident," she shared, alluding to the way life's frightening jolts can reorder one's focus.With eight locations currently operating across the U.S.
, Slutty Vegan remains a strong presence in the vegan fast-food space. Cole's journey hasn't been without its challenges; following a grease fire that claimed her first restaurant in 2016, she also experienced personal setbacks like car repossession and eviction. Cole detailed this resilience to People, affirming her expertise in facing and overcoming failures.
The comeback involved strategic moves to restructure the company, including hiring a headhunter to locate new leadership as divulged by Cole to People. She reclaimed her business under the new LLC "Ain't Nobody Coming to See You, Otis," a nod to a well-known line from The Temptations, highlighting her connection with her customer base and tapping into what she feels is her "superpower with people." Cole is now turning her attention to "Slutty Vegan 2.
0," aiming for global expansion with talks of branching into Dubai and Africa, signaling her ambition to take the plant-based brand beyond American borders.Moving forward, the Slutty Vegan chain is seen as the vanguard of Cole’s and her husband entrepreneur Derrick Hayes' future hospitality empire, as they envision the creation of the Hayes Hospitality Group. While her book "I Hope You Fail" encourages embracing failure as a stepping stone to success, Cole finds herself plotting the route to a food empire and connecting communities through her passion for food, as per her statements to Fox5 Atlanta.
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