When you cater a restaurant to a limited audience, it limits its chances for success. And just because an idea works on a limited basis does not mean it will scale nationally.
That’s the problem with restaurants catering to any one specific diet. You might offer gluten-free food that’s safe for people with celiac disease or a gluten intolerance, but history shows that people who don’t have to, or choose to, eat a special diet generally won’t.
Vegan and vegetarian restaurants, a number of which have failed recently, serve a small percentage of the population.
- Vegetarians: 6% of U.S. adults identify as vegetarian.
- Vegans: 3% of U.S. adults identify as vegan.
- Flexitarians/plant-forward eaters: 14 to 16% report reducing meat consumption significantly but still occasionally eating meat.
Source: Pew Research Center
Several high‑profile plant‑based chains, from the upscale Planta, which filed for Chapter 11 after closing multiple locations, to the Leonardo DiCaprio‑backed Neat Burger that shut its London and New York restaurants, have struggled alongside vegan‑focused brands like Leon, showing how niche vegan concepts often struggle in reaching a broad customer base.
It’s simply harder to build and sustain a restaurant brand that self-limits its customer base. That’s one of the factors that has driven Slutty Vegan owner Pinky Cole to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Slutty Vegan owner files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
While Cole and not the company, has filed for Chapter bankruptcy protection, the Slutty Vegan founder owns 85% of the restaurant chain.
In April 2025, Cole was still recovering from one of the most turbulent years of her career, in which she lost control of Slutty Vegan.
“At that time, Slutty Vegan was struggling with $10 million in corporate overhead, rapid expansion, and a cash burn that Cole admitted had become unsustainable. She filed for a state-level restructuring on February 13, 2025, and by March 28, she had bought back the company under a new parent name: Ain’t Nobody Coming to See You, Otis,” Complex reported.
The restructuring was a bankruptcy-like process run by the state of Georgia, an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors.
“Assignment for the benefit of the creditors (ABC) (also known as general assignment for the benefit of the creditors) is a voluntary alternative to formal bankruptcy proceedings that transfers all of the assets from a debtor to a trust for liquidating and distributing its assets. The trustee will manage the assets to pay off debt to creditors, and if any assets are left over, they will be transferred back to the debtor,” according to Cornell’s Legal Information Institute.
She bought back the company with her own money.
“I am the owner of the company,” Cole told WSB-TV Atlanta. “It is mine, it belongs to me. And I am showing every single entrepreneur out there, sometimes this industry gets really predatory, and I’m reclaiming what’s mine, and I’m happy about that.”
In some news stories, Pink Cole is referred to as Aisha “Pinky” Cole, and in others her surname is listed as Cole Hays. The Slutty Vegan website refers to her as Pinky Cole.
Cole continues to struggle, lands a new job
While she has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on a personal level, Cole Hays career has expanded in another area.
“The 38-year-old entrepreneur, who revolutionized the plant-based restaurant game with flavorful lineup of burgers and fries, has joined the cast of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Atlanta series for its 17th season,” Capital B Atlanta reported.
Cole filed for bankruptcy, owing more than $1 million in small business loans and $192,000 to state tax authorities, according to court documents, according to the Atlanta Business Journal.
“Cole listed the Small Business Administration as her largest debtor, owing the SBA $1.2 million. She also reported owing $192,000 in Georgia taxes. According to her self-disclosed pending legal actions, Cole is also facing foreclosure on a $140,000 investment property,” the news site reported.
More Bankruptcy:
- Key auto parts and services company files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
- Key travel brand files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
- Self-driving-car company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
Among her assets, Cole listed $2.8 million in real estate, $435,000 in vehicles including a bus named “The Magic School Slut,” $1 million in restaurant equipment, $15,000 in designer shoes, and a $5,000 French bulldog.
She called herself “unemployed” in the filing.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta season 17 premieres on Bravo on Sunday, April 5, 2026, according to Bravo.
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Slutty Vegan financial woes
- Around mid‑2025, Slutty Vegan and related entities faced civil litigation, including a lawsuit alleging unpaid rent (over $87,000) for two Atlanta locations, according to WSB-TV 2 Atlanta.
- Other legal controversies, including wage‑related lawsuits tied to Cole’s hospitality ventures, continued to surface during this period, the news site shared.
- In February 2025, Slutty Vegan underwent a state‑level restructuring. During this period several Slutty Vegan locations were closed and planned expansions were stopped, according to Axios.
- Cole filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Feb. 12 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia, according to the Atlanta Business Journal and documents on PacerMonitor.
“According to court documents, Cole tried to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy last month, but her request was dismissed over failure to pay the court’s filing fee,” added the Atlanta Business Journal.
That unsuccessful filing is also listed on PacerMonitor.
Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a form of personal bankruptcy under federal law that lets an individual with a regular income reorganize and repay their debts over time under a court‑approved repayment plan, usually lasting three to five years. It’s often called a “wage earner’s plan,” because it’s designed for people who earn wages or have steady income and want to keep their property instead of liquidating it, according to the official United States Courts website.
Slutty Vegan’s website shows six remaining locations. The chain had 14 branded locations at its peak, and Cole ran a number of related concepts under different names, which have closed.==
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