In April 2025, Pinky Cole Hayes was still recovering from one of the most turbulent years of her career.
After losing control of her multimillion-dollar brand, Slutty Vegan, she was forced into a restructuring process that left her fighting to keep the company alive.
The setbacks came on top of a near-fatal accident. While driving on an Atlanta highway, a mattress crashed into her windshield at 70 mph.
“It was like Final Destination,” Cole Hayes told People. She survived, but the incident forced her to slow down and reassess. “In life, we always worry about the things that really don’t matter until your life is on the line,” she said.
At that time, Slutty Vegan was struggling with $10 million in corporate overhead, rapid expansion, and a cash burn that Cole Hayes 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. “You can never take your hands off the wheel,” she said of the lessons she learned.
Just five months later, in September, Cole Hayes announced the next chapter: franchising. What she once said she’d never do has now become the core of her expansion strategy.
“I went to restructure on February 13, 2025, and then I repurchased the company on March 28, 2025. We’re in September, and I’m about to announce franchising,” Cole Hayes explained to Franchise Times late last month. “I really want to show other entrepreneurs that even though it’s hard, you can redeem yourself.”
To lead the effort, she brought in franchise veteran Shawntel Daniels, who previously worked at 7-Eleven, Planet Fitness, and BP. Daniels emphasized that Slutty Vegan’s growth will depend on experienced operators. “A franchise isn’t just, hey, let’s slap the name on it and it’s going to do well,” she said.
The franchise plan includes a range of costs—$555,900 to $1.1 million for a restaurant and an additional $255,000 to $312,000 for a food truck. Locations will average 1,500 to 2,000 square feet, with counter service and communal seating.
Cole Hayes also teased a “high-profile celebrity” as the first franchisee, with initial focus on Georgia and Florida before expanding nationwide. “What makes this offering so attractive,” she said, “is that I never gave up.”