After Stephanie Izard’s year in the role, DoorDash appointed Pinky Cole, founder of Atlanta-based Slutty Vegan, as its next chief restaurant advisor. Starting immediately, Cole serves as the voice of the industry and will “infuse the local operator perspective into key conversations at DoorDash.”
This is just the second year of DoorDash’s chief restaurant advisor position, which is intended to build better relationships between the largest U.S. meal delivery provider and its restaurant partners.
Cole started her business in a ghost kitchen, before scaling up to a food truck and opening multiple traditional restaurant locations. She also has experience working as a DoorDash driver in California.
“Pinky’s ambitious entrepreneurial mindset for expanding her restaurant empire, coupled with her love for connecting with the communities she operates within through the Pinky Cole Foundation, makes her an ideal operator to assume the role of chief restaurant advisor,” said Tom Pickett, DoorDash’s chief revenue officer. “We’re confident that Pinky’s experience scaling Slutty Vegan from a ghost kitchen to a food truck to multiple brick and mortar locations will bring an invaluable perspective to our company—especially as we continue to see the resilient nature and entrepreneurial spirit of the industry.”
New this year, DoorDash is evolving the role to include a “Speed Dial” where select DoorDash leaders will be able to discuss hot button industry topics that matter to its restaurant partners in real-time with Pinky. Beyond this crucial development, Pinky will liaise with both internal and external teams, including DoorDash leaders, employees, and local restaurateurs. These interactions include hosting industry roundtables, attending strategy meetings, and providing feedback on products and services that have yet to be rolled out broadly to restaurant partners.
“Before beginning Slutty Vegan, I worked as a Dasher in Los Angeles—so serving as chief restaurant advisor is a full-circle moment for me,” Cole said. “Putting the pandemic aside, the restaurant industry is unpredictable. I’m excited to get to work with DoorDash to ensure restaurants will have appropriate resources to succeed regardless of the hand that’s dealt. 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. I am thrilled to be able to use this expertise to support the DoorDash team in decision making that will ultimately help this organization better connect with the people.”
