Reatta Myers-Hall is ready to take Birmingham’s Slutty Vegan to new heights

[Link]By Chanda Temple

For years, Reatta Myers-Hall worked to help other companies thrive.

Whenever she saw areas that needed improvements, she offered suggestions. But she and her ideas were ignored. A lot.

Although Reatta was brokenhearted, she was never broken over what happened, for she knew that one day someone would listen.

That day finally came in the fall of 2024 when Pinky Cole, the founder of the multi-million dollar Slutty Vegan brand, asked Reatta if she would like to own and operate Alabama's only Slutty Vegan store as a franchise. Since Reatta already had a history of running the store as its manager when it first opened in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Birmingham in August 2022, she jumped at the chance. And Pinky gave her the store, which is located at 7 - 55th Place South.

"What happened at those other businesses never made me want to quit,'' Reatta said. "I just tucked (the ideas) in my back pocket, and now I'm pulling them out."

Today, Reatta is rolling out new value meals and products for Birmingham Slutty Vegan consumers, along with the long-cherished plant-based burgers on vegan Hawaiian buns, vegan desserts and fries that Pinky first started selling when she launched the Slutty Vegan burger stands in 2018 in Atlanta. There are now 12 Slutty Vegan locations in Georgia, New York ,Texas, Alabama and Maryland. Birmingham still has the only Alabama location.

"A lot of people don't like to accept the nos that they get, and they get discouraged. But that should be fuel for you to keep going on and pressing to get to that yes,'' Reatta said. "You have all the keys. You just have to create your own door.''

When patrons told Reatta they wanted to see more plant-based chicken options and lower prices at the Woodlawn location, Reatta worked on opening a door to make that happen. She did polls and collected data, which led to her adding value and combo meals, "cauliflower wings,'' plant-based tenders and plant-based sliders to her menu.

Some of the things now available at the Birmingham store include:

• All food items have sultry names such as the original "Sloppy Toppy," "One Night Stand,'' and "Fussy Hussy.'' Reatta's "cauliflower wings'' continue to carry the suggestive theme with the "Bougee Heaux'' name. They are cut up, fried and flavored cauliflower, covered in one of four sauces selected by the consumer: thai chili, buffalo, barbecue or garlic parmesan. They are available as a six piece, a 10 piece, a six piece with fries or a 10 piece with fries. And yes, do they taste like chicken.
• The fried tenders known as "Tenderonis,'' are made with the plant-based Beyond Meat.
• The store used to be closed on Sunday and Monday. It is now open Monday - Thursday, 12 to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday, 12 to 9 p.m. .
  A Birmingham food truck is in the works.
• A mentorship program for future entrepreneurs in Birmingham will launch in mid-2025.
• A vegan burger cook-off for area vegan chefs in Birmingham is planned 2025.
• The catering menu, which used to offer just burgers and fries, will be tweaked to add plant-based "beef tips,'' vegan fish options and stir fry.
  A Birmingham mango lemonade was added to the Birmingham store in 2024.
• Instead of paying separately for a beverage, the new combo meals come with a drink and the fries.
• While other Slutty Vegan locations changed their banana pudding recipe, the Birmingham store kept the original recipe, which still includes sea moss. They use almond milk, coconut milk and vegan condensed milk, and it is topped with Biscoff cookies.

"It's important to listen to the people because that's whom we serve,'' said Reatta, 35, and a Birmingham native and veteran who is a married mother of four sons. "Ever since we launched the cauliflower wings in late December, it's grown. Barbecue and the thai chili are favorites.''

Other ways Reatta is connecting with consumers is through giveaways. In November 2024, she helped provide Thanksgiving boxes with meals, toiletries and non-perishable items for 20 Woodlawn-area families. On Dec. 23 and 24, she gave away free "Fussy Hussy'' burgers as part of her ongoing commitment to community.

[Link]Downtown Birmingham business owner Solomon Williams was the first person in line on Dec. 23.

"I've been in here since they first opened in 2022. And when I saw that they were opening again, I was like, that's what I'm talking about because we need this in the community,'' said Williams, 27 and a vegan. "I'm happy that it's in Birmingham.''

Reatta hosted a re-opening of Slutty Vegan in October 2024 after the storefront temporarily closed in June 2024. Some store employees later did tours in other cities to give visibility to the brand and to see how they could grow the business.

Since the grand re-opening, Reatta said they are gaining visibility and gaining new faces. "Right before we went on Christmas break, a girl game in and said someone had just stolen her car. She had to find an Uber to pick up her so she could come here to get her order. We showed concern and empathy for her,'' Reatta said. "I fixed her order and made sure she had extra things in it. She was real appreciative. She just wanted someone to hear her out and listen to her.''

A caring heart and encouragement are some of the "special sides'' visitors and employees will find at Reatta's store.

On Jan. 1, 2025, Reatta surprised one of her employees, Briannah Ezelle, with her own LLC to help her start her own nail and make-up artist business. Briannah had recently graduated from cosmetology school, and Reatta wanted to give her that extra boost to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams.

"I know for a fact that the hardest part in being an entrepreneur is starting. I have procrastinated on myself, trying to figure out when is the best time. The best time is now,'' Reatta said. "Briannah is going to step out on her own and still work for us. I just wanted to help her get started.''

Serving up good food with good vibes runs in Reatta's family. Reatta, her mother, and her late father, worked in the food industry for years. And when Reatta was growing up in Birmingham, she, her mother, relatives and church members worked the concession stands at Legion Field and UAB's Bartow Arena. They took the money they earned running concessions and donated it to their church to support the church's programs.

To now see Reatta flourish in what seems like her destiny, has left her mother feeling proud.

"I've never met Pinky, but I'm so glad she saw what I could see in her,'' Reatta's mother, Wanda Hansley, said. "Somebody has finally, finally seen her true potential.''

**Birmingham's Slutty Vegan store can be found on Instagram at @sluttyveganbham.

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