Pinky Cole has never been one to shy away from the highs and lows of entrepreneurship. This will be no different when she appears on the 17th season of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”
Cole’s Business Pursuits
Before the show, Cole built her fast-food business, Slutty Vegan. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, she temporarily lost ownership when the company went through a global restructuring on Feb. 13, 2025. The company’s challenges included $10 million in corporate overhead and the closure of its Spelman College location.
At the time, she described feeling every emotion possible from grief, sadness, fear, depression, and uncertainty. However, Cole didn’t let those feelings distract her from the bigger picture. In March 2025, she bought back the company under the name “Ain’t Nobody Coming to See You, Otis LLC.”
Today, there are six Slutty Vegan locations, and Cole has expanded her footprint through a new venture called VOAGIES, a plant-based eatery selling 100% vegan hoagies, according to a press release. Its first storefront is located on 1542 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd, Atlanta, GA.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta
Cole will now invite her loyal customer base and an entirely new audience into the unfiltered, day-to-day realities of her journey as a businesswoman on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”
“I didn’t choose reality TV. Reality TV chose me. I’ve done a lot in my career. I’ve been behind the scenes as a television producer. I’ve become a restaurateur, and I’ve also been a philanthropist, an author,” she told AFROTECH™.
“I have this philosophy that you can do whatever it is that you put your mind to. And with everything that I’ve recently gone through, I really wanted to be a walking testimony for people to know that you can really bounce back from hard times. So when the opportunity to do the show came, I’m like, ‘You know what? I am not a reality star, but I am somebody who inspires people around the world.’ And I can do that on an even bigger platform,” she continued.
Fans can also expect to gain a closer look at Cole’s relationships with her children and husband, Derrick Hayes — founder of Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks — along with an inside scoop on the Pinky Cole Foundation.
“I’m not holding nothing back. I’m showing everything,” Cole said.
When questioned about the risks and rewards, both personally and professionally, of appearing on the show, Cole states that, similarly to entrepreneurship, there is risk in everything. However, she looks forward to embracing a new opportunity to amplify her business.
“I’ve already created a household name, but it’s only getting bigger and better,” she expressed.
Appearing on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” comes with a price tag, but Cole makes her intention clear with the statement, “This ain’t a money play for me.” Her decision to join the show is certainly a strategic move to resonate with a wider audience beyond the highlight reels.
“If you wanna be a disruptor, you gotta be disruptive, and it don’t matter where you be disruptive at, you find a place to be disruptive … So you gotta get as creative as possible, even if that means you being on a reality show, letting the world learn about your business,” Cole told AFROTECH™.
The show will air on Sunday, April 5, at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo, according to 11ALIVE.com.
