Pinky Cole Hayes, founder of the popular plant-based restaurant chain Slutty Vegan, has reclaimed ownership of her company following a challenging period in 2024. The entrepreneur, who previously saw her business valued at nearly $100 million, faced significant financial and operational hurdles that temporarily led to her losing control of the brand, according to Afro Tech.
In an interview with People, Hayes described the past year as one of the toughest in her career, citing a $10 million corporate overhead and struggles with operational management. “I was chasing something that I couldn’t catch for so many reasons,” she admitted.
On February 13, 2025, Slutty Vegan underwent a global restructuring that removed Hayes from ownership. She shared her emotional journey in an Instagram video, saying she experienced grief, sadness, and uncertainty but maintained faith ahead of her eventual comeback.
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“The last couple of months, it’s probably been the most incredibly difficult of my entrepreneurial life. As of Feb. 13, the company went through a global restructure. And as a result of that, that meant that I no longer own the company,” she said on Instagram. “I have gone through every emotion imaginable — Grief, sadness, fear, depression, uncertainty. What a lot of us entrepreneurs go through, I have gone through. But I realized that as long as I continue to stick to my faith, God will always be by my side. And as hard as change is, it is necessary, but it’s always for the good.”
On March 28, 2025, she successfully repurchased the company under the entity “Ain’t Nobody Coming to See You, Otis LLC,” a nod to a quote from the 1998 film The Temptations. Moving forward, Hayes plans to implement new leadership strategies and bring in fresh investors to support Slutty Vegan’s expansion, including potential locations in Dubai and Africa.
Reflecting on her brand’s loyal following, she told People, “People love Slutty Vegan because they love me… I know that people are going to support and back me in whatever it is that I authentically do.”
The journey to owning a vegan business for Hayes started as a side hustle. A vegan for a decade, she named her venture “Slutty Vegan” and ran the business for four months in a shared commercial kitchen before being subsequently fired from her day job for focusing too much on her new business.
She then expanded Slutty Vegan to include a food truck, and then to her first brick-and-mortar location in January 2019. Over 1000 people patronized her restaurant when it opened. She is now confident of making Slutty Vegan a billion-dollar brand.
Beyond making money, the 37-year-old is also a philanthropist. She is the founder of Pinky Cole Foundation, a nonprofit aimed at empowering generations of color to win in life, financially, and in the pursuit of their entrepreneurial dreams. The foundation has paid off student loans.
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.
