The Role Pinky Cole Is Taking Over From Stephanie Izard
Aisha "Pinky" Cole, entrepreneur, founder, and owner of the Atlanta-based vegan burger restaurant chain Slutty Vegan, has a new role to add to her resume. According to Restaurant Business, Cole will be taking over as Chief Restaurant Advisor at DoorDash for the next year, a role previously held by Stephanie Izard, who founded the restaurant Girl & The Goat based in Chicago. The role essentially allows Cole to become a liaison between restaurants and DoorDash and be a "voice of the industry." Some DoorDash leaders will even have the opportunity to reach out to Cole with updates and concerns about relevant issues they are facing through the business.
Cole's experience building Slutty Vegan from scratch as a pop-up, food truck, and growing restaurant chain has given her plenty of experience going into this new role. "Being a restaurateur is by far one of the most difficult jobs I've ever had. But through experience I have learned to maneuver through this industry in a way that allows me to connect with the customer to identify what they like and what they don't like," Cole said (via AfroTech).
Pinky Cole began as a DoorDash driver
Pinky Cole not only has great brick-and-mortar restaurant experience as the founder and owner of the burger joint Slutty Vegan, but she started her career in the industry and got the idea for Slutty Vegan as a DoorDash driver in Los Angeles, California. She calls her new role as Chief Restaurant Advisor for the company "a full-circle moment," adding, "... the restaurant industry is unpredictable. I'm excited to get to work with DoorDash to ensure restaurants will have appropriate resources to succeed ..." (via AfroTech).
What kind of work ethic will Cole bring to her new position? If a telling interview with The Washington Post provides any insight, it's that she works hard, plays hard, likes to be in control, is quite the perfectionist, and will tell you what she wants when she wants it. "I'm very clear and direct. I know exactly how I want it and I know how it's supposed to feel," Cole said.