Join us today at 1:00 pm PT / 4:00 pm ET on Instagram live, Black Girl Nerds host Ryanne Bennett interviews entrepreneur Pinky Cole of Slutty Vegan.
From her beginnings in a shared kitchen to a food truck to 3 locations and pandemic grand openings, Pinky Cole is building an empire as the owner and visionary of Slutty Vegan, an Atlanta-based restaurant. Just two years old, the company’s revenues grew to 4 million within the first 6 months of its grand opening. With a rotating menu and a standard 2-hour wait, to pick up made-to-order food, Slutty Vegan is a cultural phenomenon. If you think it’s only about food, you’d be greatly mistaken. Cole has hit the trifecta of community, commerce, and compassion.
Serial Entrepreneur, Brand Strategist, and a Veteran Television Producer, Cole pours all her love, experience, and talent into a recipe for success increasing revenues this year by 15%. When restaurants were closing, Slutty Vegan opened two locations with socially distanced lines down the block. While record numbers of people are unemployed, Slutty Vegan is providing sustainable employment. Cole’s impact does not stop there. As an economic engine for the Atlanta community, Cole (in partnership with another philanthropist) has also paid rent for local businesses, paid the tuition of 30 Clark Atlanta students, and provided coats to those in need.
Varo, the all-digital, mission-driven bank, is coming to Atlanta to support entrepreneur and
philanthropist Pinky Cole in a shared mission of eliminating barriers to financial freedom for as many people as possible.Â
Inspired by Pinky’s December Days of Giving initiative where Pinky performs acts of kindness for the community leading up to the holidays, Varo is making a donation to empower up to 40 Atlanta entrepreneurs with the funds to launch and sustain their small businesses. The funds will be used for the business owners to obtain legal licenses and cover other start-up costs that pose an inequitable barrier to entry for aspiring entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds and financial circumstances.
Slutty Vegan ATL Gwinnett opening will occur in Duluth on December 18. The restaurant will host a grand opening event complete with a ribbon-cutting by Pinky Cole and Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Nicole Hendrickson. Slutty Vegan Gwinnett will mark Pinky’s fourth Slutty Vegan ATL location since launching in 2018. Varo will be there to celebrate Pinky’s success and help amplify the block-party style event and give back to the community by giving away $1,000 gift cards for gas money and free meals and have a complimentary 360 photo booth for guests. Atlanta’s V103 radio station will
be live broadcasting from the event with DJ Jelly spinning.
Like other locations, the Duluth location will serve a menu of creative takes on 100% plant-based burgers, sandwiches and meals made with Impossible meat and donning cheeky names. Fan-favorites including the One Night Stand, a burger loaded with vegan bacon, vegan cheese, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato & Slut Sauce on a vegan Hawaiian bun and the Fussy Hussy, a burger loaded with pickles, vegan cheese, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato & Slut Sauce on a vegan Hawaiian bun, plus unexpected options like the Heaux Boy featuring vegan shrimp tossed in a New Orleans style batter, loaded with lettuce, tomato, pickle & Slut Sauce on a vegan Hawaiian bun will be available for takeout and delivery.
As always, you can catch the conversation live or the replay on BGN’s Instagram page @blackgirlnerds.