Pinky Cole is expanding her business empire.
The Atlanta-based restaurateur behind the Slutty Vegan chain will be opening a Bar Vegan in Baltimore this fall, the first location of the restaurant outside of Atlanta and part of her first foray into her Maryland hometown.
“Bar Vegan was just supposed to be a concept to see if a bar would work,” Cole told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Not only did it work, it became a staple in Atlanta. So now I’m like, ‘Okay, not only can I expand Slutty Vegan, I can also expand Bar Vegan and it still be successful.’”
The 5,600-square foot location will open alongside another Slutty Vegan location in October or November at the Baltimore Peninsula, a 235-acre mixed-use development spearheaded by Under Armour founder Kevin Plank. Cole grew up about 15 minutes away from the project and has joined on as a partner, though she did not disclose details of the deal. She said she has a “vested interest” and is also a project ambassador.
“It definitely feels like a full circle moment,” she said. “Who would have thought that the little girl from East Baltimore would come back to create opportunities for hundreds of Baltimoreans?”
Credit: Jamie Spaar
Credit: Jamie Spaar
The design of the Bar Vegan will be the same as the flagship location in Atlanta’s Ponce City Market, but the food options will be different. Cole is currently interviewing executive chefs to help develop the menu but said they will have to have some Maryland crab cake-inspired vegan dishes.
Cole’s current business portfolio includes 12 Slutty Vegan locations across Georgia, New York, Alabama and Texas, a cookbook and Slutty Vegan products on metro Atlanta Target shelves. In 2022, Cole raised a $25 million Series A funding round for Slutty Vegan that at the time valued her business at $100 million, according to Forbes.
Credit: Jamie Spaar
Credit: Jamie Spaar
She is taking lessons from expanding Slutty Vegan to her expansion of Bar Vegan.
“It’s hard to scale a company and if you are not consistent, people will not come. That’s just the truth,” she said.
Cole said she has also learned the right leadership team is vital to weather changes in the economy.
The Atlanta Bar Vegan location has also been the target of a lawsuit that is still pending.
Credit: ALYSSA.POINTER@AJC.COM
Credit: ALYSSA.POINTER@AJC.COM
In late 2022, former Bar Vegan employee Morgan Georgia sued Cole and two of her business partners in federal court in Atlanta, accusing them of withholding tips and failing to meet federal minimum wage requirements. They have denied the allegations in case filings.
In November, the judge in the case allowed other Bar Vegan servers, waiters or bartenders who received tips to join the class action. Cole said that the case is nearing an end and she will be happy to put it behind her.
A lawyer for Georgia did not respond to a request for comment on the status of the case.
Last August, Slutty Vegan settled a separate lawsuit over unpaid wages filed by former employees of its Brooklyn location.
As Cole expands Bar Vegan, she is thinking about the future of her multi-million-dollar business. She wants to fully own the vegan dining sector, but down the road she is not sure yet whether she’ll sell the business or take it public.
“Where I’m at right now is I’m focused on the operation,” Cole said. “I’m just basically reigniting it and making it better all over again. So maybe in about two years, I’ll be able to really have like a concrete plan on if I want to sell, if I want to go public, but just nonetheless know that my vision is making sure that this business becomes a billion-dollar brand.”
Coming soon: The AJC’s vegan and vegetarian dining guide
Read more about Pinky Cole and other plant-based restaurateurs as well as restaurants, pop-ups and markets when the AJC’s ultimate Atlanta guide to vegan and vegetarian dining comes out on Wednesday, April 10. Visit ajc.com/food for more information.
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