Slutty Vegan is a black-owned plant-based restaurant run by Pinky Cole who has shot to fame in the Atlanta area. This vegan chef’s good works were almost marred by a group of angry social media users who left negative reviews and racist comments on her Google and Yelp after she decided to help the family of Rayshard Brooks.
Cole’s celebrity friends quickly chipped in by buying out the plant-based eatery and serving the community with free food.
Cole, 31 years old, runs her business with 36 employees and although her physical shop just opened in 2019, the infusion of the southern flavors into her dishes makes her food different from other vegan restaurants. Celebrity patrons Gabrielle Union, La La Anthony, Chris Paul and Ludacris huddled together, bought out the restaurant and served the community free food last Tuesday.
One can say the internet trolls tried to stop the plant-based chef from continuing her philanthropic duty to her community and society at large.
Cole had joined forces with local business owners to cater to the family of Brooks, the 27-year-old man who was killed by Atlanta police officers on June 12 at Wendy’s. They gave Brooks’ family a car, life insurance and his children a full scholarship to Clark Atlanta University.
Initially, Cole was also collaborating with local eateries to give free meals to officers, first responders and other essential workers during the lockdown but suspended that service in support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement to put an end to police brutality, MadameNoire reported.
This stance did not go down well with some social media users who decided to leave negative and racist reviews for Slutty Vegan. In less than 72 hours, the local community, having seen the trail of negative comments, decided to give 18,000 genuine positive reviews.
So, when her celebrity friends wanted to help her, Cole decided to share free food to her community for rallying behind her.
In fact, Cole has a record for providing free meals to nursing homes. She also assisted with the payment of tuition fees for 30 Clark Atlanta students and was a key figure in the funeral of Nigel Cole by helping to pay for his funeral. Nigel was a 15-year-old gay teen who committed suicide after being bullied constantly.