Pinky Cole is back in Atlanta, and she’s brought a whole new kind of plant-based deliciousness to the table! After facing some business tribulations, the visionary behind the wildly popular Slutty Vegan brand has made a triumphant return to the culinary scene with her brand-new vegan hoagie shop, Voagies.
And the internet is already buzzing about the massive queues forming outside, proving that Atlanta is more than ready for this “Slutty Vegan 2.0” era.
Pinky Cole, a true force of nature in the vegan food world, recently detailed the challenging period where she briefly lost control of her Slutty Vegan enterprise due to financial restructuring. But true to her resilient spirit, she fought back, regained ownership, and is now channeling that renewed energy into Voagies. This isn’t just any new spot; it’s a symbolic and strategic comeback, occupying the original storefront in the historic West View neighborhood where Slutty Vegan first launched.
“This is the first business in Slutty Vegan 2.0,” Cole proudly announced at the grand opening. “This is a hoagie shop like you have never experienced before.” She emphasized her commitment to redefining the sandwich experience, sharing, “I was tired of going to sub shops and just getting veggies on bread. I wanted to create something guilt-free that I could appreciate, and I knew the market was wide open for a vegan hoagie shop”.
Last month, the celebrated Atlanta entrepreneur explained to Forbes how she had to surrender control of Slutty Vegan through an “assignment for the benefit of creditors,” only to repurchase it about six weeks later. Cash-flow issues and high corporate overhead were cited as the reasons for the necessary restructuring. But now, with Voagies, Cole has pledged that this grand opening is just the first step to making “Slutty Vegan 2.0” bigger, better, and stronger.
She’s confident that Voagies will scale into its multimillion-dollar brand, just like Slutty Vegan did. “This brand is going to scale in a way that you ain’t never seen before… We will see this all over the world,” she proclaimed.
And the internet’s reaction is pure excitement! After a video of the long queue at the opening was shared, comments started pouring in, with fans eager to try the new plant-based subs. One user exclaimed, “Been fennin’ for a good plant-based sub shop for a long time. I’m definitely a customer…”. Another praised the community impact: “The Black community now has a fresh, healthy option right outside their door 👏🏾easy, local, and made for us.” The congratulations flowed in, with one person noting, “Congrats Pinky. Always innovating, always reinventing the game!”. And a particularly heartwarming comment came from someone who remembered Cole from her earlier days: “It’s crazy. I remember I used to work for her during summer youth in her juice bar in Harlem. I’m so happy to see where she is now. She was definitely going through a lot at the time after her restaurant burned down.”
Have you tried a Voagie yet? Let us know!
