Slutty Vegan

Pinky Cole, a former television producer, founded the restaurant in August 2018.{{Cite web|last=Ogunsola|first=Jennifer|date=2022-01-18|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=2022-01-25|website=Essence|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Nwogu|first=Laura|date=2022-01-18|title=Atlanta-based restaurant Slutty Vegan is headed to Savannah. Could a permanent home follow?|url=https://www.savannahnow.com/story/entertainment/2022/01/18/slutty-vegan-coming-savannah-ga-pinky-cole-atlanta/6566321001/|access-date=2022-01-24|website=Savannah Morning News|language=en-US}} She intended for it to be a ghost kitchen, where customers would order food online and use a delivery service to get it.{{Cite web|last=Respers France|first=Lisa|date=2019-08-06|title=Slutty Vegan restaurant a plant-based burger sensation|url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/slutty-vegan-black-veganism-atlanta/index.html|access-date=2022-01-30|website=CNN|language=en}} Cole started the restaurant because she found that there was no place available to eat vegan food after 9 p.m. She decided to use sex as a theme for her restaurant because of its ability to attract non-vegan customers.{{Cite web|last=Petre|first=Holly|date=2021-09-21|title=Slutty Vegan: Changing the world with vegan comfort food|url=https://www.nrn.com/emerging-chains/slutty-vegan-changing-world-vegan-comfort-food|access-date=2022-01-24|website=Nation's Restaurant News|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Danziger|first=Lucy|date=2022-01-04|title=Pinky Cole Is Helping Non-Vegans Love Vegan Food. What's Next?|url=https://thebeet.com/slutty-vegan-founder-pinky-coles-secret-to-getting-more-people-to-eat-vegan/|access-date=2022-01-24|website=The Beet|language=en}}{{Cite news|last=Severson|first=Kim|date=2019-07-01|title=A Naughty Name, a Virtuous Menu and a Line Down the Block|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/01/dining/slutty-vegan-burger-atlanta-restaurant.html|access-date=2022-01-25|issn=0362-4331}} Social media{{Cite web|last=Shigley|first=Debra|date=2019-03-14|title=How Pinky Cole used Instagram to make Slutty Vegan's burgers a viral hit IRL|url=https://www.atlantamagazine.com/dining-news/how-pinky-cole-used-instagram-to-make-slutty-vegans-burgers-a-viral-hit-irl/|access-date=2022-01-30|website=Atlanta Magazine|language=en-US}} and word-of-mouth were used heavily to promote the restaurant.

It originally started in a shared kitchen, before moving to a food truck several weeks later, and later moved to a brick-and-mortar location in Westview on January 13, 2019. Two locations were opened in the Atlanta area in 2020. The restaurant is known for its growth despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web|last=Wiener-Bronner|first=Danielle|date=2020-12-17|title=How Slutty Vegan is growing during the pandemic|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/17/business/slutty-vegan-expansion/index.html|access-date=2022-01-30|website=CNN Business}} The chain has collaborated with Shake Shack to release plant-based burgers that were available for only one day.

As of January 2023 there is a pending lawsuit over lost wages from an ex-employee.{{cite web | url=https://www.ajc.com/life/slutty-vegan-ceo-pinky-cole-got-engaged-in-atlantas-cutest-local-celebrity-moment/XT7LFRPMVBFBJA5HQIQJKMORVU/ | title=Slutty Vegan CEO Pinky Cole got engaged in Atlanta's cutest local celebrity moment }}

In 2023, the restaurant had 11 locations in Georgia, New York City, Birmingham, Ala., and Dallas, with plans to open more, including locations in Baltimore.{{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}}

The Slutty Vegan menu lists burgers, hot dogs, and chicken sandwiches.Menu items have suggestive names like Fussy Hussy and One Night Stand. Parade magazine has published the recipe for the Chik’N Head sandwich.{{Cite web |title=Slutty Vegan’s Pinky Cole Shares How to Make Her Viral ‘Chik’N Head’ Sandwich at Home |url=https://people.com/slutty-vegan-pinky-cole-viral-chik-n-head-sandwich-recipe-7972458 |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=Peoplemag |language=en}}

File:Slutty Vegan food truck in Durham.jpg in 2020]]

As of April 2023, the chain has five locations in the Metro Atlanta area and a plant-based bar, Bar Vegan. Cole also recently opened restaurants in Athens and Columbus, Georgia,{{Cite web|last=Johnson|first=CJ|date=2023-04-05|title=Slutty Vegan Opens Inside Truist Park, Home Of The Atlanta Braves|url=https://atlantafi.com/slutty-vegan-opens-truist-park/l|access-date=2023-04-07|website=AtlantaFi|publisher=AtlantaFi|language=en-US}} Birmingham, Alabama, and Brooklyn and Harlem in New York City. There are also plans to open a new location once every month in 2023, in a different city. During the fall 2023 semester, a location is scheduled to open on the Spelman College campus.{{Cite web |date=2023-08-08 |title=Pinky Cole Celebrates Slutty Vegan’s Fifth Anniversary With The Announcement Of Her 13th Location Coming To An HBCU |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pinky-cole-celebrates-slutty-vegan-175526075.html |access-date=2023-08-15 |website=Yahoo Finance |language=en-US}}

The chain has a mobile food truck, which hosts pop-ups at various locations in the South.

• List of Black-owned restaurants

{{reflist}}

Category:Black-owned restaurants in the United States

Category:Vegan restaurants in the United States

Category:2018 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)

Category:Restaurants in Atlanta