Workin' Girl
Aisha “Pinky” Cole’s empire just keeps growing. The founder and CEO of Slutty Vegan has consistently been making headlines with her ever-popular Slutty Vegan restaurant that has become a national phenomenon. What started out from her apartment in 2018 to a food truck is now a franchise with four locations in metro Atlanta, but it doesn’t stop there. She also opened a new restaurant concept called Bar Vegan in downtown Atlanta’s Ponce City Market, which has also received rave reviews.
But time and time again, the restaurateur proves that her momentum isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Here are 5 major moves that the boss has cooking up.
Moving On Up
After taking over Georgia with her Slutty Vegan franchises, the mogul is now plotting to take over the world. Pinky made the exciting announcement that she was opening up a Slutty Vegan franchise in Brooklyn, NY. In an Instagram video, actress Naturi Naughton is seen walking around New York trying to find a vegan burger. She instantly received a call from Pinky and the announcement about the new location was revealed.
Buying the Block
Last week, Pinky shared that she and her partner in love and business, Derrick Hayes, “bought the block” together. The photos showed her and Derrick, who owns Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks, signing papers at a real estate office and a video of the block they purchased together. She captioned the series of posts, “Real life monopoly… 🙌🏽 Bought the block with bae! 🏡🏡🏡🏡🏡🏡.” Neither one of them shared which neighborhood they purchased the homes in, but it’s more than likely in Atlanta, which is where they both reside.
Expanding the Family
Pinky and Derrick welcomed a baby girl, D Ella Hayes, last year, but now the mother of one will be a mother of two. Pinky shocked everyone when she revealed her baby bump in a recent Instagram post. The 34-year-old businesswoman playfully captioned it, “Pushing 🅿️🤰🥰.” In an interview with People, Pinky opened up about having a support system while running her businesses. "I am so fortunate to have my mother and Derrick's mother, as constant support in our household," she said. "We are both so very busy growing our food empires, we wouldn't be able to do what we love without our village."
New Book
Pinky can now add author to her resume. She announced via Instagram that she will be releasing her first book this year titled Eat Plants Bitch. “At first 'THEY' told me Slutty was too provocative…,” she wrote in the caption. “And then I signed my first book deal with one of THEE biggest publishing houses in the world! @simonandschuster 🙌🏽😜
EAT PLANTS BITCH Available for pre-order now! I’m claiming this will be a New York Times Best Seller! Link in BIO 🎉🌱 2022 I’m coming in HOT!! 🙌🏽”
Giving Back to the Community
If you take a look at Pinky’s community service page on Instagram, @pinkygivesback, then you will see all of the good work that she does through her company. The Clark Atlanta University alum created her eponymous foundation that has partnered with other corporations such as Steve Madden and Varo Bank. Through her foundation’s partnership with Varo Bank, Pinky is giving other entrepreneurs the opportunity to learn about financial literacy and provide support to purchase their LLCs.
Featured image by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for ESSENCE
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