Entrepreneur Pinky Cole says that “Slutty Vegan 2.0 is happening in real time” as she sets the record straight about buying back her fast-food empire amid backlash from a prominent restaurant closure at Spelman College. For starters, Cole, an HBCU alum who graduated from Clark Atlanta Univers ity, made headlines in early April when she revealed that the business was being revamped. She disclosed, “For 43 days, that’s how long I didn’t own my company,” during an April 10 interview for V-103’s “Big Tigger Morning Show.”  Pinky Cole addresses Spelman College shuttering its Slutty Vegan during her process of restructuring the company. (Photos: Pinkycole/Instagram; Sluttyveganatl/Instagram.) The burger joint began as a food truck in Atlanta in 2018 and quickly grew into a multimillion-dollar venture with five brick-and-mortar locations in the city, including the since-shuttered locations at the all-women’s college and Georgia Tech. Slutty Vegan also set up shop with restaurants in Alabama, Maryland, Texas, and New York, some of which closed during the global restructuring deal she entered into on Feb. 13. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pinky Cole Hayes (@pinkycole) Cole said the business’ overhead of nearly $10 million was a catalyst behind her decision to relinquish control of the endeavor. She says she bought it back for an undisclosed amount on March 25. On Instagram, one user wrote, “She grew too fast.” A second person commented, “I feel like she misled us by not being transparent about this part of the business in real time…Now she seems to be doing damage control.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Big Tigger Morning Show (@bigtiggermorningshow) She told the radio hosts, “For the life of Slutty Vegan, I’ve made probably like $70 million, but my debt is high. So you can make all the money, but if your debt is high, it don’t mean anything because, bottom line, if it don’t look green, it’s red.” The restaurateur also cited economy and talent changes as too much for her to handle on her own.  “It was a sinking ship that I could not keep putting water out of the ship. So, I surrendered to a restructure,” she said. The entrepreneur added, “We did not close. I mean, except for a couple of ’em. I woke up and looked at the news like, ‘Spelman closed today. What happened?’” When asked if she was forewarned of the closure, she said, “No.” You’re talking about college students. Spelman has a name but if yall think everyone on campus has money you’re crazy. I started at Spelman HOMELESS.And it’s time we had that conversation about slutttttyy vegan and its owner bc… yeah https://t.co/dBwR8qpPLG— Thick Saban (@RaveenTheDream) March 18, 2025 Elsewhere on Instagram, a third user asked, “Wait what happened?” at the news of Spelman losing its Slutty Vegan. The answer can be found in the students’ complaints. “College students are broke.  They should have created a budget menu just for the campus location,” read a tweet about the debacle. Price gouging criticism grew loud weeks before Cole’s “Slutty Vegan 2.0” announcements. Burgers and sandwiches range in price from $15 to $18 and fries carry an additional cost of $3.75. The Spelman location opened in August 2023 and closed its doors on Feb. 26, according to a notice the college sent to its pupils. Students voted that it be replaced by Twisted Taco. ‘It Was a Sinking Ship’: Pinky Cole Accused of Doing ‘Damage Control’ for ‘Slutty Vegan 2.0’ as She Claims Being Blindsided by Spelman Location Shutdown Amid Students Complaints About Pricey Burgers ...read more read less