Here’s some yummy news: Slutty Vegan is heading to Brooklyn!
According to Patch, the popular Atlanta-based vegan burger chain will open its first location in New York City in Fort Greene on Sept. 17. It will be a bit of a full circle moment for its CEO and founder, Pinky Cole.
During an appearance Thursday on “Good Morning America,” Cole celebrated the expansion to New York, calling it a homecoming. She said she had her first-ever restaurant in Harlem many years ago, but was forced to close it in 2016 following a fire.
“I had a restaurant here [in New York City], lost it to a grease fire, went completely flat broke. So this is a really big homecoming for me,” said Cole, as reported by Patch.
Fast forward two years after the fire and Slutty Vegan was formed right out of Cole’s apartment in Atlanta, according to the restaurant’s website. She started out taking vegan burger orders via Instagram and by October 2018, she had built her first brick-and-mortar location in the city. There now are several locations in Georgia and one in Alabama, according to the website.
Cole has also gained recognition for her philanthropic work – such as paying off the tuition balances of 30 Clark Atlanta University students – and for promoting Black entrepreneurship.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams welcomed the restaurant to the Big Apple in an Instagram reel shared on the Slutty Vegan ATL Instagram page. Adams noted that “anyone who knows me, knows I love to eat healthy and plant-based.”
“On behalf of 8.8 million New Yorkers, let me be the first to say, welcome to New York City, the big time,” he said. “Listen, we love our brothers and sisters in Atlanta, but it’s about time you brought your vegan burgers here to the greatest city in the world. As mayor, I want to lead a healthy food revolution all over this city. When we eat better, we feel better, we think better, we live better.”
Adams noted that Slutty Vegan will be a great resource for the African American community.
“Restaurants like [Slutty Vegan] are going to play such a pivotal role, especially in Black and brown communities that, for far too long, have not had the same access and choices,” he said. “I’m thrilled we have another extraordinary Black entrepreneur in our city. You’re going to show so many New Yorkers how delicious vegan food can be.”
The website lists the “Sloppy Toppy,” “Super Slut,” and “One Night Stand” – all of which feature a meatless patty topped with vegan bacon and cheese, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, and the restaurant’s “Slut Sauce” – among the items on the menu at Slutty Vegan.
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