Slutty Vegan, an Atlanta-based Black-owned restaurant known for its vegan burgers, hosted a pop-up Saturday that showed just how popular the restaurant is.
Held at noon in the parking lot of the Koger Center, the bright yellow food truck was decorated with “Vegan for the Culture” and “Slutty” for its “Gettin’ Slutty” tour.
Slut is a heavily gendered word that is used to persecute and disempower women. There is a growing movement among women to reclaim and take back the word slut.
Slutty Vegan is no stranger in this movement, and it is doing its part. It is using the word as a term of endearment.
Hundreds of fans and supporters of Slutty Vegan had already begun lining up hours before the event started. While people waited in line, Tally Kombucha, a Black-owned brewed kombucha company, passed out samples while carrying out its collaboration with Slutty Vegan for Saturday’s event.
“We wanted to seize the opportunity to work with Slutty Vegan, and this year we are all about honoring our community by showing them different varieties of vegan and vegetarian food that can be prepared in many ways. We wanted to bring life back in our communities, and this collaboration allowed us to do so,” Michaela Teasly, CEO of Tally Kombucha, said.
Photo Credits: Vanessa Ferguson
The food truck officially cut the line and sold out in 9 minutes.
Atlanta-based entrepreneur Aisha “Pinky” Cole, CEO of Slutty Vegan, was amazed by the city’s support and turnout. She announced on her Instagram page. “Y’all, I’m in my dream. God, I don’t know what we did to deserve this, but to sell out in 9 minutes is unheard of. Thank you, Tallahassee,” Cole wrote.
Jaida Clark, a resident of Tallahassee who has lived here for over four years, expected the massive turnout once she saw The Gettin’ Slutty tour posts being reshared in the Tallahassee Foodies Facebook group that has almost 50,000 members.
“I saw multiple posts on Tallahassee Foodies and how people were reacting. Tallahassee was ready. I had a feeling this amount of people were going to show up. The amount of impact and support that group has been monumental,” Clark said.
The event started at noon, and the last customers were served around 7 p.m.
Rain or shine. No matter the weather, some people waited an hour, and some even stayed in line for much longer.
Gabrielle Johnson, a senior public relations major at Florida A&M, waited over six hours in the line and came prepared with her umbrella.
“The food was delicious and not the average vegan food you can find in Tallahassee. Although I was in line for six hours, which I must say I will never do again, experiencing that moment surrounded by the community and a great friend made it worthwhile,” Johnson said.
Some were not as unfortunate as Johnson and made it in time. Vanity Constance Sanders was one of them.
“I look forward to making a trip to Atlanta, visiting the locations and headquarters. I want to experience everything Slutty Vegan has to offer,” Sanders said.
No need for disappointment to those who couldn’t catch Slutty Vegan. The Gettin’ Slutty Tour is not over. Mark your calendars for Feb.16 because Jacksonville is next up on the list.
Shadell Bromell encourages everyone to join their hotline community.
“I signed up for their texts, and that’s how I found out about this event. If you want to stay in the know, I strongly suggest people text the number, so they don’t miss out,” Bromell added.
You can follow @SluttyVeganATL to stay updated on the Gettin’ Slutty tour for more details or text JACKSONVILLE at (678)-846-3225.
Tallahassee’s Gettin ’Slutty tour pop-up featured three vegan burgers and a vegan-chopped Philly steak. All sandwiches came with a side of Slutty Fries.
Slutty Vegan merchandise was also available to purchase, including hats, bags and the restaurant’s plant-based vegan bacon “Slutty Strips.”
Slutty Vegan employees who were approved to be interviewed declined to talk to The Famuan.