Atlanta food power couple welcome first baby

Aisha “Pinky” Cole started Slutty Vegan as a mobile food service before it opened a brick-and-mortar store in Atlanta's Westview neighborhood in 2019.

Atlanta’s Pinky Cole and Derrick Hayes have introduced the world to their daughter D Ella Hayes, according to an Instagram post. The couple own and operate the Slutty Vegan and Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks, respectively.

Cole revealed to People that she and Hayes are “excited” about the name of their daughter. “She is the only person we’ve ever heard of with only one letter in her first name,” the new mom explained.

“Derrick thought he could only make girls, so when we found out we were having a girl, we decided to make her a girl junior,” she said. “[She’s] such a special baby with a simple but unique name.”

Cole credits her support systems for helping her family to maintain a healthy balance, and for making success at home and in the workplace possible at once.

“I am so fortunate to have my mother and Derrick’s mother, as constant support in our household,” she says. “We are both so very busy growing our food empires, we wouldn’t be able to do what we love without our village.”

Just last month, the entrepreneurs were featured in a special edition of Essence magazine, where they talked about their businesses’ being of and for the people, not just about food.