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Atlanta Restaurateur Pinky Cole Sued Over $87K in Unpaid Rent

The Slutty Vegan founder is accused of failing to pay rent on two Edgewood Avenue properties, according to a lawsuit filed in Fulton County.

Popular Atlanta restaurateur Pinky Cole is facing a lawsuit that alleges she failed to pay rent on two Edgewood Avenue properties.

The case, filed last week in Fulton County state court, claims that Cole, along with her company Slutty Vegan, owes more than $87,000 in unpaid rent, late fees, and interest, according to reports.

Fox 5 Atlanta reported that attorneys for Asana Partners LLC, the Delaware-based firm that owns multiple properties along the busy Edgewood Avenue corridor, said the complaint covers the sites of Cole’s restaurants Slutty Vegan and The Morning After.

According to the filing, Slutty Vegan, Inc. has allegedly not paid close to $40,000 in rent. That figure was compounded by a 5% late fee and a 7% interest rate on overdue balances.

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“As a result of Tenant’s breach of the Leases for failure to pay rent and other monetary charges due, Landlord has suffered damages in an amount to be proven at trial, but in no event less than the total sum $87,312.65, exclusive of late fees and interest, plus additional rent and other charges that accrue under the Leases at the rate of $13,665.34 per month, subject to regularly scheduled adjustments reflected in the Leases,” the lawsuit states, according to the outlet.

The filing marks the latest in a string of financial and operational challenges for Cole’s restaurant group. Slutty Vegan, which began as a food truck in 2019 and expanded to 14 locations across four states, has since scaled back to five restaurants, according to the company’s website. Earlier this year, several Bar Vegan locations—another concept co-founded by Cole—also closed.

In a February interview with People, Cole explained that the company had undergone restructuring after significant financial strain, including a $10 million corporate overhead. She temporarily transferred ownership of Slutty Vegan to an assignee before buying it back on March 28 for an undisclosed amount.

The company’s growth plans also took a hit this summer when a proposed Slutty Vegan location at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was scrapped. The airport later announced that Buffalo Wild Wings and Wu Tang Asian Kitchen would replace the vegan chain in the Concourse B space.

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