On Friday, Slutty Vegan founder Aisha “Pinky” Cole shot scenes with “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” cast, fueling speculation she is being tested to potentially join the reality show.

Restaurateur Kelli Ferrell, who debuted as a cast member in March for the 16th season, hosted a media launch event for a new location of her restaurant, Nana’s Chicken-N-Waffles, in Sandy Springs at the Prado off Roswell Road just inside I-285.

Cole was not made available for an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at the event. She spent most of her time in front of Bravo cameras interacting with women who were on the show last season.

Pinky Cole (from left) spent much of her time Friday chatting with Drew Sidora and Kelli Ferrell at Ferrell's media event for the opening of Nana's Chicken-N-Waffles in Sandy Springs while Bravo cameras rolled on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta." )Rodney Ho/AJC)

Credit: RODNEY HO

icon to expand image

Credit: RODNEY HO

The other cast members from Season 16 who attended the event were Shamea Morton, Drew Sidora, Angela Oakley and Phaedra Parks. Cynthia Bailey, a part-time participant who previously was a full-time cast member, was also at the event.

Brit Eady left the show in July after one season and filed a lawsuit against Bravo and its parent company for defamation after former castmate Kenya Moore showed a sexually explicit photo of her in a public setting.

Porsha Williams, a longtime member of the show, was absent from the event at Nana’s.

Bravo has not announced the full cast for the 17th season of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” which will likely debut early next year.

Cole shooting scenes for “Housewives” doesn’t guarantee she’ll appear on the show, but based on how Bravo has worked in the past, producers are likely testing her out to see if she’d be a good fit.

In April, Cole told UATL she returned to plant-based burger chain Slutty Vegan after briefly losing then reacquiring the company through restructuring earlier this year.

Slutty Vegan, which she opened in 2018 as a food truck, expanded to 14 locations at one point. But it has retrenched recently, closing several restaurants, and now has five: metro Atlanta locations on Edgewood Avenue and in Jonesboro; and in Baltimore; Birmingham, Alabama; and Brooklyn, New York. Locations at Spelman College, Georgia Tech and Duluth shuttered earlier this year.

Kelli Ferrell (left), owner of Nana's Chicken-N-Waffles, opened a second restaurant and celebrated before "Real Housewives of Atlanta" cameras and media Friday. V-103 host Jazzy McBee attended the festivities. (Rodney Ho/AJC)

Credit: RDONEY HO/AJC

icon to expand image

Credit: RDONEY HO/AJC

Ferrell opened her first Nana’s Chicken-N-Waffles in McDonough in 2016, and that restaurant remains open.

About the Author

Keep Reading

An affiliate of Asana Partners, which owns Krog Street Market and Plaza Fiesta, filed a suit against Slutty Vegan saying Cole and her business entities owe more it than $87,000 in past due rent, late fees and interest. (Courtesy of Madelynne Boykin)

Credit: Courtesy of Madelynne Boykin

Featured

In 2022, Georgia Power projected its winter peak electricity demand would grow by about 400 megawatts by 2031. Since then, Georgia has experienced a boom of data centers, which require a large load of electricty to run, and Georgia Power's recent forecast shows peak demand growing by 20 times the 400-megawatt estimate from just three years ago. (Illustration by Philip Robibero/AJC)

Credit: Illustration: Philip Robibero / AJC