Loss, Drama, Lawsuits: How Pinky Cole Plans to Rebuild Slutty Vegan Empire

Pinky Cole, founder of the Atlanta-based restaurant chain Slutty Vegan, says the company is entering a new era after she regained full ownership of the brand earlier this year. She now says she plans to franchise it.

New Beginnings

Slutty Vegan, valued at nearly $100 million in 2022 following a $25 million Series A funding round led by Danny Meyer’s Enlightened Hospitality and Richelieu Dennis’ New Voices Fund, faced operational challenges that led Cole to temporarily lose control of the company. She blamed rapid expansion, a $20 million debt, and weekly overhead costs of $100,000 as factors behind the 2025 restructuring.

“I was chasing something that I couldn’t catch for so many reasons,” Cole told People.

In March 2025, Cole purchased the business back under her new parent company, Ain’t Nobody Coming to See You, Otis LLC (named for a famous quote from the 1998 TV miniseries The Temptations). “I went to restructure on February 13 of 2025 and then I repurchased the company March 28, 2025. We’re in September, and I’m about to announce franchising,” she told Franchise Times. “I’ve never, in my history of being an entrepreneur or professional in the hospitality space, I’ve never seen anybody that has done what I’ve done in less than one year.

First order of action was to downsize Slutty Vegan’s locations from 18 to six.

She noted, “We grew really, really fast. But I don’t necessarily believe that we had the right people. We had great people, but not for where we needed to go,” she told Franchise Times.

Now fully in charge, Cole is launching Slutty Vegan 2.0, with a focus on franchising. Tech executive Lauren Maillian was named president earlier in the year to prepare the company for expansion, and Shawntel Daniels, former executive at Planet Fitness and 7-Eleven, joined as franchise president in August.

According to the company’s website, the franchise program allows investors to open single-unit locations for $555,900 to $1,166,500 or multi-unit sites for $587,900 to $1,201,500, with the option to add food trucks for additional brand exposure. Franchisees must meet financial requirements of $500,000 in liquid capital and a net worth of $1 million, with a goal to develop a minimum of three units in protected territories.

Slutty Vegan, which first launched in 2018 from a shared kitchen, has become known for its provocative branding and indulgent plant-based menu, including fan favorites like the Hollywood Hooker and the One Night Stand. Cole notes that her audience is largely non-vegan, drawn by curiosity and the brand’s reputation for making plant-based food flavorful and approachable.

Cole Hayes plans to announce the brand’s first franchisee, described as a “high-profile celebrity,” and aims to focus initial franchising efforts in Georgia and Florida. “I really want to show other entrepreneurs that even though it’s hard … you can redeem yourself, and you can come back from a tough situation, and you can rise above and come back on top,” she said.