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?”
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.
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….
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