Slutty Vegan Founder Pinky Cole Just Announced Huge News For The Brand

Pinky Cole's Slutty Vegan is a prime example of a restaurant success story. CNBC reports that Cole's first restaurant venture burst into flames after a grease fire destroyed the building back in 2016. From the ashes, the restaurateur moved down to Atlanta, Georgia, and tapped into the city's Black community to build a new vegan empire. According to the restaurant's website, Cole started selling Slutty Vegan's burgers via Instagram out of her apartment back in 2018 before she even opened a restaurant. Thanks to popular demand, she eventually got a food truck and expanded to a brick-and-mortar business after winning over hundreds of diners.

The momentum kept growing from there. Cole plans to make Slutty Vegan a billion-dollar venture over the course of the next few years by rebranding vegan offerings as a party and celebrating plant-based offerings in fun ways that every carnivore can love. The chef even founded a non-profit organization designed to improve financial literacy among people of color. The group has since done a ton of good for the Atlanta area: It has helped fund students' college tuitions, donated food to food banks, and much more. Now, Cole plans to take her business and vision of fun vegan food to new heights thanks to an influx of cash.

Forbes reports that Cole has now secured $25 million through a Series A funding round. Series A financing resembles seed investment and means that Slutty Vegan now plans to sell shares in the business, per Corporate Finance Institute. The only caveat is that the shareholders can't vote when it comes to business decisions. Thanks to this financial plan, Slutty Vegan now has a market value of $100 million, and Cole plans to take the show on the road.

She intends to open up 10 more restaurant locations by the end of 2022 and another 10 by the end of 2023. In order to manage the expansion, Cole also intends to expand the managerial side of her business with a COO and CMO in the very near future. Her current investors should provide some star power to the restaurant as well. Richard Dennis acts as a lead investor who has championed shea products, while Danny Meyer bought in. Meyer, a noted restaurateur who's helped establish Michelin-grade restaurants, previously tapped Cole for a collaboration with Shake Shack, helping her get on the national fast food map.

This expansion follows Slutty Vegan delivering signature kettle chips and CBD candy to the marketplace, alongside a previously planned restaurant expansion into Brooklyn, New York, and Baltimore, Maryland. At this rate, it might only be a matter of time before a Slutty Vegan opens up around the corner from your home, making everyone question their preconceived notion of the best burgers in the U.S.