This story originally appeared on the Local Moms Network.
Pinky Cole built a hundred million dollar restaurant brand, from the ground up. With 12 locations from Brooklyn to Dallas, she started out selling burgers via Instagram and a food truck in Atlanta, Georgia. Along the way she married Derrick Hayes (the owner of Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks, a very non-vegan restaurant in Atlanta), and became a mom, welcoming D’Ella (3), Derrick Jr. (2) and David (born in December of 2023). She also became a step mom to Derrick’s daughters Dallas and Denver.
The Jamaican American vegan restaurateur is also a twice-published author. Her first book, Eat Plants, B*tch, shared recipes that appealed to meat-eaters as much as vegans—just like her restaurants. Her new book, I Hope You Fail: Ten Hater Statements Holding You Back from Getting Everything You Want, shares her own experience to empower others to push past tough times.
As she’s grown her empire, she’s quietly paying it forward through the Pinky Cole Foundation, paying college tuition for dozens of graduates, paying rent for local business owners and giving LLCs to 800 graduating seniors.
Recently, she shared with Fast Company that despite accomplishing so much personally and professionally in the last few years, it has been tough—really tough—even as her business thrived. “I’ve never scaled a multimillion dollar brand before. I stepped away and I had three kids….And then I got married all at the same time,” she told the publication. But when layoffs happened, somebody said something that stuck with her. “The person said, ‘if it were me, I would have never taken my hands off the wheel.’ Right? And it hit me like a thorn in my spine, but I needed it because now that I’m back in it, back holding it and touching it, I’ll never take my hands off the wheel. And that was the greatest lesson that I’ve ever learned,” said Pinky.
In this week’s Meet a Mom interview, Pinky Cole shares about teaching her own kids about financial security, raising a blended family, future baby plans and more.
Before you were Pinky Cole, vegan restaurateur, your background was is in television production. Do you ever think you’ll go that route again?
Yes, my first love is in television production because I’m a creator. I love to put things together, I love to build upon things, and I know that I’ll be able to use my brand, Slutty Vegan, as a vessel to get back into the space that I fell in love with first.
What’s your favorite thing on the Slutty Vegan menu and why?
I love the sloppy toppy, and I love the sloppy toppy because it’s spicy. I love spicy food. I need hot sauce with every single thing that I eat and my motto is, if it’s not spicy it’s not good.
You’re married to Derrick Hayes who owns Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks. How does that work? Do you cook two meals at home?
Derrick does all of the cooking; he actually cooks better than me. Last night he made me some broccoli and mushrooms, and it was so good. I like his cooking because he loves food and he’s a foodie. It’s hard to cook for him because he likes to eat, so he’s very particular about making sure the food tastes good. He always makes sure that we’re eating good food in our house.
Do you have any tips for helping a blended family come together?
Make sure you are cool with the mom. It all starts with the mothers. If the mothers don’t have a good relationship, it will never work. I’m happy to say I have a good relationship with my co-mom because we understand it is only about the kids and I treat the kids like my own.
Financial security was always your goal and something you really fought for, especially after your first restaurant was destroyed by a fire. How are you teaching your kids about financial security as well as resilience?
No candy… Just kidding, but really discipline. It isn’t about the money, it’s about discipline. If you teach them discipline and always at a young age, no candy, only water [to drink], then that discipline will transcend into other areas of their life.
Anything else you’d like to share?
I had a thought yesterday that I wanted to have another baby.
Meet more food-loving moms from the Local Moms Network:
Meet an Author: Amy Palanjian of Yummy Toddler Food: Dinnertime SOS!
