Slutty Vegan has undergone several changes as Pinky Cole Hayes reclaims ownership of the brand.

Navigating Operational Challenges

As AFROTECH™ previously reported, in 2022, Slutty Vegan was valued at nearly $100 million, including $25 million from a Series A funding round led by Danny Meyer’s investment group, Enlightened Hospitality, and Richelieu Dennis’ New Voices Fund. 

Following several roadblocks — including losing a location at Spelman College, accruing $20 million in debt, and spending $100,000 per week, reports Franchise Times — Cole lost control of the business. This occurred after Slutty Vegan went through a global restructuring on Feb. 13, 2025. Cole Hayes admitted to PEOPLE that she was not “the operational person,” and learned “you can never take your hands off the wheel.”

 “I was chasing something that I couldn’t catch for so many reasons,” Cole Hayes told PEOPLE.

Reclaiming Ownership

The following month, she purchased her business under “Ain’t Nobody Coming to See You, Otis LLC.” In Slutty Vegan’s new era, it no longer had the backing of Meyer’s and Dennis‘ firms, and its locations downsized from 18 to six, Franchise Times reports.

“We grew really, really fast. But I don’t necessarily believe that we had the right people. We had great people, but not for where we needed to go,” Cole Hayes told the outlet.

“When I decided to move forward with the restructure, it was an opportunity to press a hard reset and just really just sit back and assess, like, OK, what could we have done differently? How could we have made this better,” she continued.

Welcoming Franchisees

As AFROTECH™  previously reported, in June, tech executive Lauren Maillian was named President of Slutty Vegan in preparation for the brand’s launch of “Slutty Vegan 2.0.”

Now, Slutty Vegan is welcoming people to become franchisees of Slutty Vegan, though Cole Hayes admitted to Franchise Times that this move contradicts her previous idea for the brand. However, she understands this will be key to scaling the business to new heights and has taken notes from the page of her husband, Derrick Hayes, who has franchised his company, Big Dave’s Cheesesteak, per the outlet.

“I went to restructure on February 13 of 2025 and then I repurchased the company March 28, 2025. We’re in September, and I’m about to announce franchising,” Cole Hayes expressed to Franchise Times.

“I’ve never, in my history of being an entrepreneur or professional in the hospitality space, I’ve never seen anybody that has done what I’ve done in less than one year. I really want to show other entrepreneurs that even though it’s hard … you can redeem yourself, and you can come back from a tough situation, and you can rise above and come back on top,” she continued.

Shawntel Daniels, franchise president for Slutty Vegan commented:

“What I want to focus on is making sure that these are people that are true entrepreneurs, that have some restaurant background, that understand food and it’s not just someone that’s really excited about being a part of the brand. We love that as well, but we want people that really want to invest that time and the money towards growing the brand. A franchise isn’t just, ‘Hey, let’s slap the name on it and it’s going to do well.’”