Slutty Vegan, the plant-based burger chain known for its raunchy menu names and high-energy customer experience, has signed a franchise agreement to open a restaurant in Cincinnati. No address or opening date has been announced yet, but the deal makes the Queen City the brand's third Ohio market in a matter of months.
The Cincinnati franchise rights belong to Soul Republic Hospitality Group, led by founder Akin Affrica, according to WKRC. Affrica's group also holds the franchise rights for planned Slutty Vegan locations in Columbus and Cleveland, which are anticipated to open this fall. Affrica said Cincinnati was always part of the plan for his company, and pointed to substantial demand for the brand across Ohio, per the same report.
Soul Republic Hospitality Group isn't a newcomer to the region's dining scene. The company already operates seven hospitality concepts, with a dozen locations across its seven brands as of July 9, 2026, including Zanzibar Soul Fusion and The Vegan Club. That existing footprint gave the group both the operational muscle and the local market read that apparently made a Cincinnati bet feel obvious.
Ohio's Rollout Started With Cleveland And Columbus
The Ohio push actually began with franchise agreements signed in July for Cleveland and Columbus locations, both targeted to open this fall, according to the same PR Newswire release cited above. Before either storefront opens, Slutty Vegan's food truck appeared in Cleveland in September and saw strong sales, as The 216 Scoop reported.
Slutty Vegan says an address and opening timeline for the Cincinnati location will be announced as buildout progresses, per WKRC's report. That leaves the exact site of the Queen City restaurant, and how quickly it can be built out, as open questions for now.
A Brand That Went From Food Truck To National Franchise Push
Aisha “Pinky” Cole Hayes founded Slutty Vegan in Atlanta in 2018, growing it from a single food truck into a national franchise brand, according to WKRC. The Cincinnati signing lands amid a much broader 2026 expansion wave: Slutty Vegan also inked franchise development agreements this year for Miami, Detroit, Washington, D.C., and its home market of Atlanta, according to a release covered by Morningstar.
That comeback follows a rocky stretch for the brand. In March 2025, Cole Hayes bought back the company; she filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2026, listing roughly $1 million owed to the Small Business Administration.
Cole Hayes has also leaned on pop culture to keep the brand in the spotlight, joining the cast of Bravo's The Real Housewives of Atlanta for its 17th season this year, according to the Columbus Navigator. Whether Soul Republic Hospitality Group's franchise rights extend beyond Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati to cover Ohio exclusively remains unclear.
