Aisha “Pinky” Cole has been through a great deal in recent months, but on at least one front, the law came through for her in a significant way. A federal judge in Atlanta ruled in the Slutty Vegan founder’s favor after a property management company seized one of her rental homes and refused to give it back, even after she had filed for bankruptcy protection. For Cole, who has also been navigating a very public financial crisis while simultaneously making her debut on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, the ruling carried both legal and personal weight.
What happened with the rental home
Cole filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 2, 2026, a move that under federal law triggers what is known as an automatic stay, a legal protection that prevents creditors from seizing or continuing to hold a debtor’s personal property once the filing is in place. Despite that protection, Guardian Asset Management, a property management company acting on behalf of a creditor, changed the locks on Cole’s six-bedroom investment property in Loganville, Ga., on Feb. 20 and posted a notice in the front window indicating the home could not be entered and would be put up for sale.
Cole had planned to begin renting the property out in April as part of her effort to start paying down her debts, so Guardian’s refusal to return the keys had direct financial consequences. On March 26, the judge ruled that Guardian had violated bankruptcy protocol and ordered the home returned to Cole. The court also awarded her attorney fees and court costs, citing the company’s disregard for established bankruptcy protections.
The financial picture behind the filing
Cole’s bankruptcy case stems from a combination of pressures that built steadily over several years. She owes approximately $1.2 million to the U.S. Small Business Administration for a loan taken during the pandemic, funds she used to offset losses sustained by Slutty Vegan during that period. She has also acknowledged owing $192,900 in state taxes to the Georgia Department of Revenue.
Slutty Vegan, the plant-based fast-food chain Cole launched from a food truck in 2018, reached a peak valuation of $100 million in 2022 after expanding to 14 locations across four states. High corporate overhead and cash flow difficulties eventually forced all but four of those locations to close, setting the stage for the Chapter 11 filing. Cole has described the experience of watching her business managed by an outside assignee during that period as one of the most difficult stretches of her professional life.
What comes next for Slutty Vegan?
Cole is not treating this chapter as an ending. She is actively working to restructure the business under a rebranded concept called Slutty Vegan 2.0, with a franchise model intended to support more sustainable long-term growth. The original chain built its following on a menu of plant-based items with names like the One Night Stand veggie burger and Hooker fries, a brand identity rooted in humor and irreverence that Cole clearly has no intention of abandoning…