Pinky Cole, the empress of Atlanta’s vegan food empire known as Slutty Vegan recently got $25 million in Series A funding from Danny Meyer’s Enlightened Hospitality Investments and Richelieu Dennis’ New Voices Fund, AtlantaFi.com has learned.
Meyer is the proprietor of Shake Shack, which partnered with Cole’s Slutty Vegan in 2021 to offer a burger with the vegan restaurant’s signature sauce, has been a big fan of the Slutty Vegan chain since being introduced to it a year earlier.
“I had never seen vegan food presented in such a fun way,” Meyer told Forbes. “Leaders are often defined by the degree to which people want to follow them, and I saw people following the leader.”
Cole, who routinely brings her food truck to U.S. cities to test the market, has been in the expansion mood for more than two years now.
The former TV producer made the leap into the food business in 2018 when she started a food truck that sold “vegan junk food.”
In 2019, she opened her first brick-and-mortar eatery in Atlanta’s historic Westview neighborhood on the city’s southwest side.
Now she’s a multi-millionaire with major expansion plans, including plans to open up 10 restaurant locations this year and another 10 next year.
How Many Slutty Vegans Are There In Metro Atlanta?
Here are all the Slutty Vegan locations around Atlanta
| Slutty Vegan Location | Address |
|---|---|
| Westview | 1542 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd SW. Atlanta, GA 30310. |
| Old Fourth Ward | 76 Edgewood Ave SE. Atlanta, GA 30312 |
| Clayton County | 164 N McDonough St. Jonesboro, GA 30236. |
| Gwinnett County | 2131 Pleasant Hill Road Duluth, Ga. 30096 |
| Athens-Clarke County | 700 Baxter Ste. 800, Athens, Ga. 30605 |
| Georgia Tech | 351 Ferst Dr. NW Atlanta, Ga. 30313 |
Slutty Vegan is one of the best black restaurants in Atlanta, and there are plenty others. If you like barbecue, see our list of the Best Atlanta BBQ Restaurants.
The craze hasn’t escaped metro Atlanta’s food and drink scene, which has seen a bar explosion in recent years.
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