Pinky Cole
{{short description|American restaurateur}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Pinky Cole
| image = Pinky Cole InvestFest 2023.png
| alt = The woman, Pinky Cole, has brown skin and dyed red locs and is smiling at the camera.
| caption = Cole in 2023
| birth_name = Aisha Cole
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1987|12|8}}
| birth_place = Baltimore, Maryland
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = American
| other_names =
| occupation = Restaurateur
| years_active =
| known_for = Slutty Vegan restaurant
| notable_works =
}}
Aisha "Pinky" Cole (born December 8, 1987){{Cite news|last=Severson|first=Kim|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/01/dining/slutty-vegan-burger-atlanta-restaurant.html|title=A Naughty Name, a Virtuous Menu and a Line Down the Block|date=July 1, 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 19, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} is an American restaurateur. She is the owner and operator of Slutty Vegan, a plant-based burger restaurant chain in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2023, she was added to the Time magazine 100 Next list, recognizing individuals with an outsized influence on American culture.{{Cite news |last=Boyce |first=Hunter |title=Slutty Vegan's Pinky Cole makes TIME 100 Next list |language=English |work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |url=https://www.ajc.com/life/slutty-vegans-pinky-cole-makes-time-100-next-list/RXLRMF7N2ZBPZFAPMZZ7V6DMLQ/ |access-date=2023-09-13 |issn=1539-7459}}{{Cite magazine |date=2023-09-13 |title=How We Chose the 2023 TIME100 Next |url=https://time.com/6312070/how-we-chose-2023-time100-next/ |access-date=2023-09-13 |magazine=Time |language=en}}
Early life and education
Cole was born and raised in Baltimore.{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2019/07/12/the-slutty-vegan-founder-pinky-cole-on-her-wild-success-bringing-playful-vegan-food-to-the-fore/|title=The Slutty Vegan: Young, African American Founder Pinky Cole's Wild Success With Playful Vegan Food|last=Solomon|first=Micah|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=February 19, 2020}} Her parents are Jamaican immigrants and Rastafarians;{{Cite web|url=https://www.essence.com/feature/slutty-vegan-pinky-cole-veganism/|title=Going Green: Slutty Vegan Founder Pinky Cole Is On A Mission To Get Us Eating Cleaner|last=Grant|first=Jasmine|website=Essence|date=July 3, 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=February 20, 2020}} her mother Ichelle Cole is a musician in the reggae group Strykers' Posse and follows the traditional Rastafarian vegetarian diet. Her mother is a wealth adviser at PNC Bank Her father served prison time for the first 20 years of her life and was then deported to Jamaica.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theadvertiser.com/in-depth/entertainment/2020/02/11/black-vegan-southern-restaurants-slutty-vegan/2710110001/|title=Black-owned vegan restaurants are spicing up Southern cuisine|website=www.theadvertiser.com|date=February 11, 2020 |language=en|access-date=February 19, 2020}} Cole became a vegetarian in 2007, and a vegan in 2014.{{Cite web|url=https://www.atlantamagazine.com/dining-news/how-pinky-cole-used-instagram-to-make-slutty-vegans-burgers-a-viral-hit-irl/|title=How Pinky Cole used Instagram to make Slutty Vegan's burgers a viral hit IRL|last=Shigley|first=Debra|date=March 14, 2019|website=Atlanta Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=February 20, 2020}}
Cole received her bachelor's degree from Clark Atlanta University.{{Cite web|url=https://atlantablackstar.com/2020/01/14/slutty-vegan-founder-pinky-cole-dishes-on-success-of-viral-eatery-celeb-customers-and-how-she-hit-it-big/|title=Slutty Vegan Founder Pinky Cole Dishes on Success of Viral Eatery, Celeb Customers and How She Hit It Big|date=January 14, 2020|website=Atlanta Black Star|language=en-US|access-date=February 19, 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/slutty-vegan-black-veganism-atlanta/index.html|title=Slutty Vegan restaurant a plant-based burger sensation|first=Lisa Respers |last=France|website=CNN|date=August 6, 2019 |language=en|access-date=February 20, 2020}} She was elected “Miss CAU” in 2008 and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantavoice.com/articles/pinky-coles-slutty-vegan-is-vegan-food-meat-eaters-can-love/|title=Pinky Cole's 'Slutty Vegan' is vegan food meat eaters can love {{!}} The Atlanta Voice|date=January 10, 2019|website=The Atlanta Voice {{!}} Atlanta GA News|access-date=February 20, 2020}} After college, Cole moved first to Los Angeles to become an actress, and then to New York to work in television production.{{Cite web|url=https://www.essence.com/lifestyle/food-drinks/how-this-newbie-restauranteur-started-a-vegan-revolution-in-atlanta/|title=How This Newbie Restauranteur Started a Vegan Revolution in Atlanta|website=Essence|language=en-US|access-date=February 20, 2020}}
Career
= Television =
In 2010, she moved to Los Angeles and worked as a producer on the reality show Judge Karen’s Court. She left television briefly to launch a Harlem restaurant. In 2016, Cole moved back to Atlanta and worked as a casting director for programs such as Iyanla: Fix My Life.
= Pinky’s Jamaican and American Restaurant =
Pinky’s Jamaican and American Restaurant opened in 2014. It was Cole's first restaurant. It operated in Harlem for two years, until she shuttered it in 2016 after a grease fire.
= Slutty Vegan =
File:Pinky Cole on Sister Circle.jpg
In July 2018, Cole sold her first vegan burgers through delivery apps{{cite news |author=Brittany Shivers |date=July 4, 2022 |title=Q&A: Pinky Cole discusses Slutty Vegan in Athens |work=The Red & Black |url=https://www.redandblack.com/eat-drink/q-a-pinky-cole-discusses-slutty-vegan-in-athens/article_747617b0-fa5f-11ec-8d6e-77b9f8f5456d.html}} and opened the Slutty Vegan food truck in September of that year. In January 2019, she opened the first Slutty Vegan brick-and-mortar restaurant in the Westview neighborhood of Atlanta. In 2023, Slutty Vegan had 11 locations in Georgia, New York City, Birmingham, Ala., and Dallas.
Cole was inspired to create the vegan restaurant Slutty Vegan due to her own cravings for vegan junk food. All of Slutty Vegan's products are titled with some form of sexual connotation, including "One Night Stand," "Fussy Hussy," "Sloppy Toppy," and "Chick'N Head".{{Cite web |title=Slutty Vegan {{!}} Best Vegan Restaurant in Atlanta, GA {{!}} Black Owned |url=https://sluttyveganatl.com/ |access-date=January 21, 2022 |website=The Slutty Vegan Atlanta |language=en-US}}
= Cookbook =
In November 2022, Cole began a five-city tour to promote her new cookbook, Eat Plants, B*tch: 91 Vegan Recipes That Will Blow Your Meat-Loving Mind.{{cite news|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2022-11-14/slutty-vegan-ceo-talks-new-cookbook-plans-to-go-global|date=November 14, 2022|title=Slutty Vegan CEO Talks New Cookbook, Plans to Go Global|work=US News}} The book was published by Simon & Schuster. Oprah Daily published four recipes from the book in December 2022.{{Cite web |date=2022-12-06 |title=4 Recipes So Delicious, You Won't Even Know They're Vegan |url=https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/food/a42087399/vegan-recipes-pinky-cole/ |access-date=2023-06-17 |website=Oprah Daily |language=en-US}} BET said the cookbook has "food combinations that will make you forget about meat altogether."{{Cite web |title=Slutty Vegan Founder New Cookbook 'Eat Plants B*tch' Will Make You Forget About Meat |url=https://www.bet.com/article/kifq2e/slutty-vegan-cookbook-eat-plants-bitch |access-date=2023-06-17 |website=BET |language=en}} VegNews listed it as one of the "Top 100 Vegan Cookbooks of All Time" in 2024.{{cite web
|url=https://vegnews.com/cookbooks/best-vegan-cookbooks-4
|title=The Top 100 Vegan Cookbooks of All Time
|access-date=January 16, 2024
|last=Pointing
|first=Charlotte
|date= January 10, 2024
|work=VegNews
}}
= ''I Hope You Fail'' =
Written based on her own experience turning failure into success, Cole's book I Hope You Fail was published in October of 2023 and is available in print and audiobook formats.{{Cite web | title=I Hope You Fail: Ten Hater Statements Holding You Back from Getting Everything You Want | url=https://www.harpercollinsleadership.com/9781400242863/i-hope-you-fail/| access-date= 2024-06-22}} {{Cite web |title=Turning Your Failures Into Your Biggest Successes |url= https://www.iampinkycole.com/ihopeyoufail |access-date=2024-06-22 |website=I Am Pinky Cole |language=en-US}}
Recognition
In 2023, when Time magazine named her to its 100 Next list, Danny Meyer wrote that "Her myriad fans adore her sassy, sexy attitude that has not only reinvented the way people think about a vegan restaurant, but also turned classic roadside burger fare into a rollicking party."{{Cite magazine |date=2023-09-13 |title=2023 TIME100 Next: Pinky Cole |url=https://time.com/collection/time100-next-2023/6308471/pinky-cole/ |access-date=2023-09-13 |magazine=Time |language=en}} In 2024, VegNews listed Cole as one of the "17 Black Vegan Chefs Redefining Plant-Based Food and Community."{{cite web |last=Flink |first=Tanya |date=February 19, 2024 |title=The Top 100 Vegan Cookbooks of All Time |url=https://vegnews.com/chefs/black-vegan-chefs |access-date=March 12, 2024 |work=VegNews}}
Personal life
Cole met entrepreneur Derrick Hayes in 2020. The couple became engaged on July 2, 2022, and married on June 10, 2023 at The St. Regis Hotel in Atlanta. The ceremony was covered by the New York Times.{{Cite news |last=Gorce |first=Tammy La |date=2023-06-14 |title=A Vegan Restaurateur and a Meat Connoisseur Find 'No Ordinary Love' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/14/style/slutty-vegan-pinky-cole-atlanta-wedding.html |access-date=2023-06-17 |issn=0362-4331}} Hayes is the owner of Big Dave's Cheesesteaks, a non-vegan cheesesteak restaurant based in Atlanta.{{Cite web|last=Ogunsola|first=Jennifer|date=January 18, 2022|title=Pinky Cole And Derrick Hayes Are Hot In The Kitchen On ESSENCE Jan/Feb Cover|url=https://www.essence.com/news/money-career/pinky-cole-derrick-hayes-slutty-vegan-business-love-cover/|access-date=January 25, 2022|website=Essence|language=en-US}} They have a daughter, D'Ella (born 2021), and son, Derrick Jr. (born 2022). Hayes has two daughters from a previous relationship, Dallas and Denver. At their 2023 wedding, the couple announced Cole was pregnant and they are expecting a third child, a boy, in December.{{Cite news |title=Atlanta food power couple welcome first baby |url=https://www.ajc.com/life/celebrities/atlanta-food-power-couple-welcome-first-baby/D7UP7YOMBFENXDF2KN3LAXTU5I/ |access-date=2022-04-17 |newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |language=English |last1=Newmark |first1=Avery }}
= Philanthropy =
Cole and fellow alumna Stacy Lee paid the tuition of 30 Clark Atlanta University seniors in September 2019.{{Cite news|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/world/slutty-vegan-owner-helps-pay-off-student-loan-balance-students/il7Nmsot3DMTYNmJuXKFBL/|title=Slutty Vegan owner helps pay tuition of 30 Clark Atlanta students|last=Najja Parker|first=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|language=English|access-date=February 20, 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbs8.com/article/life/heartwarming/85-73c05b73-665d-41f6-a72d-dfe67d6860d1|title=Slutty Vegan founder helps Clark Atlanta student on verge of dropping out over tuition costs|website=www.cbs8.com|date=September 8, 2019 |language=en|access-date=February 20, 2020}}
In May 2022, Cole gifted an LLC to every graduating student at the Clark Atlanta University commencement ceremony.{{cite web | url=https://atlanta.eater.com/2022/5/16/23074714/slutty-vegan-founder-pinky-cole-give-llcs-graduates-clark-atlanta-university | title=Atlanta Restaurateur Gifts Graduates LLCS at Clark Atlanta University Commencement | date=May 16, 2022 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/pinky-cole-slutty-vegan-founder-clark-atlanta-commencement-address-llcs-gift/85-9c305a9c-e018-4609-893d-a5eff7f18e55 | title=Slutty Vegan founder Pinky Cole gifts LLC to every member of Clark Atlanta graduating class | date=May 14, 2022 }}
Cole runs her own philanthropic organization, The Pinky Cole Foundation, which focuses on providing financial support and educational programs for children of color.{{cite news|url=https://pinkygivesback.com/#GetInvolved|title=About the Pinky Cole Foundation|work=The Pinky Foundation}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.instagram.com/pinky907/?hl=en Pinky Cole] on Instagram
- [https://www.sluttyveganatl.com/ Official website] for Slutty Vegan
{{People in veganism and vegetarianism|state=collapsed}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Pinky}}
Category:Businesspeople from Baltimore
Category:Clark Atlanta University alumni
Category:American people of Jamaican descent