PINKY COLE

"The entrepreneurial journey is not one for the weak or faint of the heart."

Q. Thanks for interviewing with us. Tell us who you are and what you do.

A. I am a serial entrepreneur, brand strategist and founder & visionary behind Bar Vegan, Slutty Vegan ATL – a nationally acclaimed, Atlanta-based burger joint offering creative takes on plant-based burgers with racy names like Sloppy Toppy, Fussy Hussy and One Night Stand – and The Pinky Cole Foundation.

Q. Tell us a little bit about your journey and how you got to where you are today?

A. I was born and raised in East Baltimore and started my entrepreneurial journey early through creating business plans and side-hustles with friends and family members during high school. I moved to Atlanta to attend Clark Atlanta University, and while I quickly became enamored with the city, I decided to pursue acting in Los Angeles upon graduation and later worked as a successful television producer in New York City and Connecticut.

I eventually made my first foray into the culinary world with my popular restaurant, Pinky’s Jamaican and American Restaurant, in New York, which tragically burned down. I relocated to Atlanta and came up with Slutty Vegan ATL during a late-night craving for mouthwatering vegan fast food in Atlanta. From there, I started cooking vegan burgers in a shared kitchen in August 2018, and the Slutty Vegan empire was born. The wildly popular, gamechanging concept has not slowed down since opening. Today, Slutty Vegan has four brick-and-mortar locations including Jonesboro, Georgia and Duluth, Georgia plus outposts in Atlanta’s Edgewood and West View neighborhoods, with more to come including Birmingham, Alabama and Athens, Georgia. The brand’s “Big ‘Ol Slut” food truck pops up in neighborhoods across metro Atlanta and in cities across the country to share its famous burgers and fries with fans near and far.

Q. How did you come up with the name “Slutty Vegan”?

A. Sex and food are the two most pleasurable experiences in life. A Slutty Vegan, in my mind, is someone who eats vegan but enjoys junk food – as long as it’s not dead. I knew the name would be a great hook to help people to reimagine food. What I didn’t know was how much of an impact it would make.

Q. Let’s talk about your cooking book and the motivation behind the book?

A. I’m releasing my first book, Eat Plants, B*tch, with 13A of Gallery Books Group. It’s on sale beginning November 2022 wherever books are sold. It›s my love letter to food, and it will feature 91 vegan recipes including breakfast creations, dinner items like Jamaican dishes from Cole›s childhood, tapas and small plates created to celebrate and invoke joy, and her signature southern comfort food, plus a selection of tips and tricks for vegan cooking, plant-based substitutes and

Photo credit: Sterling

complementary dips, jam, jellies and gravy to enhance the recipes.

Q. Can you give us more details about the “Getting Slutty Tour”?

A. The brand’s “Big ‘Ol Slut” food truck pops up in neighborhoods across metro Atlanta and in cities across the country to share its famous burgers and fries with fans near and far. Stay tuned for updates on where we’re popping up next on Instagram.

Q. What have been some of the challenges and hurdles you’ve had to go through in your career?

A. The entrepreneurial journey is not one for the weak or faint of the heart. It requires hard work, dedication, self-discipline, prayer, and vision. As a minority female entrepreneur, you can multiply all of that by a hundred and add a side of prejudice and sexism to the side. For reasons like these, I push so hard.

Q. What tips can you give to someone who is shifting towards becoming a vegan?

A. I think healthy eating means eating what makes you feel good! We know that vegetables and quinoa are a big part of most vegans diets, but who says they can’t enjoy a great burger every now and again too? Food isn’t

Photo credit: Maya Hockaday

just about feeding your body, it’s nourishing your soul. Being healthy means being able to take time away from your busy life to indulge in the little pleasures that life brings. And there’s no greater pleasure than eating good food with good people. At home, I use fresh herbs to spice up all of my meals. I believe I can make anything taste good. I use fresh herbs, pimento, coconut milk, Jamaican peppers, fresh garlic, vegetable bouillon, exotic mushrooms, and more to make my vegan food taste delicious.

Q. Can you tell us some goals you would like to accomplish for 2022?

A. Open more Slutty Vegan locations! So far, upcoming

Photo Courtesy of: Slutty Vegan

locations include Athens, Georgia, Birmingham, Alabama, Brooklyn, New York, Baltimore, Maryland and more.

Q. What has been one of your greatest accomplishments you’ve received in career?

A. When we talk about the impact that’s been made in the South, to have people lined down the block every single day? All of our locations have a line down a block that tells me that obviously we’re doing something right. We›ve made veganism fun and accessible.

Q. Are you working on any new events or upcoming projects?

A. Right now, my focus is on opening new locations, the launch of my cookbook and initiatives through my foundation, like the Square 1: The Life Insurance Experience. We’re teaming up with my partner Derrick Hayes of Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks to spearhead the program with an initiative to provide life insurance policies by December 2023 to 25,000 Black men to support their health and generate generational wealth in the Black community.

Q. Where can the readers follow you? A.

@Pinky907, @SluttyVeganATL, @BarVeganATL and @PinkyGivesBack