'Slutty Vegan' owner Pinky Cole reveals she almost lost her business
Pinky Cole at one of her many Slutty Vegan locations in Atlanta, Georgia on April 28, 2022. (Photo by Lexi Scott for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
ATLANTA - Pinky Cole, 37, the founder of popular plant-based burger chain Slutty Vegan, says she is officially back at the helm of the company after briefly relinquishing ownership earlier this year due to financial difficulties.
What we know:
In a recent interview with People magazine, Cole revealed that Slutty Vegan underwent restructuring following significant financial setbacks, including a $10 million corporate overhead. She temporarily handed over ownership to an assignee in February, but on March 28, she bought the business back for an undisclosed amount.
What they're saying:
"I was chasing something that I couldn’t catch for many reasons," Cole said, explaining that the costs and scale of the business had grown too large to manage. She noted that while she had delegated leadership to others, the experience taught her a hard lesson: "You can never take your hands off the wheel."
Cole described this new chapter of Slutty Vegan as one defined by "new rules and new intentions," with plans to expand the brand globally.
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In the same interview, she also shared that she narrowly escaped a serious car accident when a mattress flew into her windshield while she was driving 70 mph on a highway in Atlanta.
Slutty Vegan currently operates eight locations across the U.S.—five in Georgia, and one each in Alabama, Maryland, and New York.