Operations

Pinky Cole stripping down Slutty Vegan’s business realities on ‘Real Housewives’

By bringing the fast casual world to one of reality TV's biggest stages, Slutty Vegan founder Pinky Cole is betting on the idea that authenticity — not just drama — is what builds a lasting legacy.

Photo: Slutty Vegan

February 24, 2026 by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com

Summarize with

Few restaurant founders command a room quite like Pinky Cole. The force behind the Slutty Vegan empire, who has built a brand on bold flavors and marketing, has an even bolder personality. When we chatted via Google Meet, while she was racing around NYC, the conversation wasn't just about food and her brilliant branding ideas — it was about her latest pivot: Reality television.

Hayes and Cole shared the stage during the Founderology Growth Summit, Feb. 2-4 in Austin.

Pinky just wrapped 14 weeks of filming for the upcoming season of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta." While the Bravo franchise is known for glass-tossing and "reading" rivals, Pinky is walking into the spotlight with a different recipe.

"When I was at the 'BTE Awards,' my publicist said if I really wanted to go to the next level, it was time to be on TV," Cole said. "So I'm ready to use (the show) as a way to amplify Slutty Vegan. I want to share my story worldwide."

The Power Couple pivot

The show will prominently feature Pinky and her husband, Derrick Hayes, founder of Big Dave's Cheesesteaks,which landed as No. 6 on last year's Fast Casual Top 100 Movers & Shakers, building separate empires while also supporting each other and raising their five children.

It's a juggling act that most would keep behind a closed curtain, but Pinky is ready to let the cameras in.

Her goal? To show the raw vulnerability of entrepreneurship. She's not just there to show off the wins; she's there to talk about the losses, the rebuilding process and the lessons learned along the way.

"If you try to pretend you have it all together, that's when you crumple," she told me. Vulnerability is one of my superpowers."

Side note: Pinky pointed out during our chat that Slutty Vegan and Big Dave's are both in the running for the 2026 Top 100, so she's ready to see "where the cards fall." The rankings will be published on FastCasual in May 2026.

Pink Cole celebrates with her husband, Derrick Hayes, founder of Big Dave's Cheesesteaks as he accepts his No. 6 ranking at the Fast Casual Top 100 Movers & Shakers gala in May 2025. Photo: Willie Lawless/ Networld Media Group

Peacemaker, not pot-stirrer

For those expecting Pinky to engage in the typical "Housewives" shade, you might be disappointed. Pinky is entering the circle as a peacemaker.

"I have enough drama in my own life —enough for several shows," she laughed, probably recalling the time she was driving down the road and a mattress flew out of a truck and hit her windshield or when she lost her business and had to buy it back.

She isn't kidding. Beyond the daily chaos of a household with five kids, Pinky has navigated business hurdles that would break most founders. She plans to be open about the time she actually lost control of her business and had to fight to buy it back. It's a harrowing chapter, involving a deal with a previous partner that took a wrong turn, resulting in her losing the rights to the very brand she built from a shared kitchen.

It took a grueling legal and financial battle to reclaim Slutty Vegan, an experience that she says taught her more about the "business of the business" than any success ever could.

Instead of manufactured conflict, she's using the platform as a megaphone for veganism and to elevate her restaurant's profile. It wasn't an easy "yes" for her, either. Bravo spent two years courting her before she finally agreed during the third year, realizing the sheer power the platform has to amplify the Slutty Vegan brand to a global audience.

A return to roots and a move toward growth

Kathleen Wood, founder of Founderology, Pinky Cole and FastCasual Publisher Cherryh Cansler wore "power red" in February on the day of Cole's keynote af Founderlogy.

While she's known for her plant-based burgers, Pinky's connection to the lifestyle isn't a trend — it's a heritage. Though she became vegan in 2007, she was raised vegetarian by her Rastafarian mother.

That deep-rooted connection is what fuels her next big move: Franchising.

Slutty Vegan is officially ready to scale, but Pinky is being incredibly selective. She's only accepting partners with a "strong operations background." It's a move born from experience. She admits that while her brand has always had an abundance of respect and love, operations were what lacked when she first started the business. This time, she wants the pros in the kitchen to match the hype in the dining room.

"We've had so much interest, but I'm only partnering with real operators," she said. "We need those experts."

The takeaway

Pinky Cole is treating her "Real Housewives" debut as a strategic audit of her own journey. By choosing to expose her "business scars," including the battle to reclaim her brand, she is betting that radical transparency will attract the veteran franchise partners Slutty Vegan needs to scale. In 2026, she's proving that operational honesty is a more powerful growth lever than manufactured drama.

OperationsBig Dave's Cheesesteaks Slutty Vegan

About Cherryh Cansler

Cherryh Cansler is VP of Events for Networld Media Group and publisher of FastCasual.com. She has been covering the restaurant industry since 2012. Her byline has appeared in Forbes, The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine, among many others.

Connect with Cherryh: