The walls are painted sunshine yellow, with green and plastic chairs lined up beneath blue-topped tables staggered throughout the restaurant. Signs hang on the wall detailing the beneficiary health qualities of the food served at this fast-food restaurant. The smell of chicken, meatballs, and home-cooked fries fill the room with the smells of a fast-food restaurant; only this fast-food joint serves vegan food–all vegan food.
The 1300 N. Milwaukee location of Veggie Bite, its sister location at 3031 W. 111th St., is the only registered all-vegan restaurant in the Chicago city limits, said Veggie Bite co-owner Sylvia Watycha. The Milwaukee Ave. store opened its doors in Wicker Park due to the steadily climbing demand for vegetarian and vegan friendly restaurants.
“[Veggie Bite] was very demanded in this location because of a survey we did in the area and actually realized that most of our followers were actually coming from Wicker Park to our [south side location],” Watchya said. “It seemed like the ideal space to put this type of fast-food restaurant.”
Kerry Weber, an every day customer at Veggie Bite in Wicker Park, could not be more pleased about the new location of Veggie Bite and the availability of the vegan-friendly food.
“I have always gone to the Veggie Bite on the south side because it was the only all vegan restaurant in Chicago,” Weber said. “Sure you have your Indian food, but they make all that on the same trays as meat so it really is not vegan. Now I don’t have to drive all the way to [111th Street] in order to get a good healthy meal. I get to ride my bike.”
As it stands now, Veggie Bite is the only all-vegan restaurant in Wicker Park/Bucktown area. According to the Scott Trotter, the President of the Bucktown Community Organization, 1568 N. Milwaukee Ave., the desire for alternative lifestyle food joints has been on the rise ever since the natural and organic movement hit Chicago.
Veggie Bite, however, does not design their food around the organic and natural standards that other restaurants claim to possess, Watchya said.
“I think people are becoming more and more aware of what they are putting into their bodies but only because they realize that the food they have been putting in their body for the past [couple] of years has been horrible,” Watchya said. “And so there is some kind of awareness building up. I don’t think we advertise organic because you can still eat meat that is organic. We just advertise that our food is all natural and everything we serve is vegan, right down to the ice-cream.”
As one walks down the streets of Wicker Park and Bucktown, signs for hot dogs, corned beef, gyros and other meat products line the walls of restaurants and stores. The only other restaurant that serves meat-free dishes is Earwax, 1561 N. Milwaukee Ave., and those dishes are only vegetarian friendly due to the animal by-products hidden in the ingredients list, Watchya said.
The goal of Veggie Bite is to demonstrate vegan food in a healthy and ready to eat way, Watchya said.
Posted on the wall above the wastebasket rests a five-foot sign that describes the all-natural and healthy aspects of vegan food. The list includes no cholesterol, trans-fat free oils and breads and also low-calorie food.
The vegan movement in Chicago and in Wicker Park has been a slow process due to the confusion on how vegans maintain a healthy lifestyle due to their strict dietary restrictions.
“Being vegan is not an easy thing to do,” said Mandy Heckman, creator and administrator for Columbia College’s vegetarian/vegan organization. “There are not a lot of choices and the fact Veggie Bite has began to create a change in availability is a great start for a trend of vegan-friendly places to eat.”
Stacey Ergang, faculty advisor for the Chicago Vegan Society at University of Chicago, says that there are over 5,000 vegans living in the Chicago City limits, according to a survey done on the university’s campus and an online survey taken three years ago. Among these vegans, very few maintain a healthy diet because they have not been educated on how to eat vegan food.
“All the vegans I know have a good understanding on how to become vegan without becoming sick due to a deficiency in nutrients,” Weber said. “This is why Veggie Bite is such a good addition to Wicker Park because, let’s face it, we are all indie here. We all want to be artists and to be different. Being vegan [and vegetarian] at this point is being different and going against the normalcy, it is a hidden trend among the hipsters and artists and they all need to make sure they know how to do it correctly.
Although there are no estimates as to how many vegans or vegetarians live in the Wicker Park/Bucktown area, the understood definition of what a hipster entails holds the lifestyle of being either vegan or vegetarian, according to Wikipedia.org.
“Wicker Park seems like the best place to have a vegan restaurant because this area is notorious for its never-ending love for new types of cultures,” Weber said. “Being vegan is a new age type deal because people are realizing that they don’t want the karma of eating another living animal. That is why I went vegan, I could not handle the guilt.”
As of now, Wicker Park and Bucktown does not currently possess a vegan or vegetarian organization, said Paula Barrington, Executive Director of the Wicker Park/Bucktown Chamber of Commerce.
If more vegan restaurants and/or the need for a vegan organization arise, the chamber of commerce is more than willing to support a new type of culture in its community, Barrington said.
As it stands now, Watchya is proud to be the owner of the only fast-food all vegan restaurant in the Chicago city limits. Even though it gives the store its own niche, Watchya still would like to see Chicago, and Wicker Park become more vegan friendly.
–Colin Shively
Having hit all the independent retailers on North Ave. and Milwaukee Ave., the two fashion lovers strolled down Damen Ave. heading to the two biggest retailers in the neighborhood; BCBG and Marc Jacobs.
“I don’t mind a few of the special national retailers because it does give the community an anchor,” P.B. said.
To get to March Jacobs, P.B. said, one has to walk down Damen Ave., going past all the independent retailers that line the street which allows people to show independent first then progress to the national retailers. To her it is a balance neighborhood thus far.
It was only last year when the first retailer, Levi, moved into Wicker Park marking the beginning transition between local and national. The progressive change of the community, known as gentrification, was sped up when the super retailers, BCBG Max Azria and Marc Jacobs infiltrated the bohemian neighborhood.
“This reminds me a lot about the Armitage area,” Regas said.
Along with the higher priced merchandise found at the national boutiques, the arrival of the super giants brought in a wave of rising rent prices; making it difficult for local shop owners to stay in business.
I think the community needs to have a cohesive plane as to how to balance the community in a way that will hopefully benefit everybody,” Menzel said.
According to records at the alderman office in Wicker Park and Bucktown, rent prices have seen an average increase of 12 percent, or a rise of three dollars per square foot of a building. Although the Wicker Park/Bucktown Chamber of Commerce has some influence on the landlords, they cannot control the rent prices.
The trend in Wicker Park and Bucktown is the growing attraction that national retailers are showing to the community. As more families move in, the average house hold income rise–giving families more money to spend freely on retail merchandise.
The trend however, it still up for debate on whether or not the changing times will be welcomed by the community or rejected like a badly colored shirt.
“It is hard to say if it is good or if it is bad,” Menzel said. “I would like to see the neighborhood prosperous and people coming and spending money in the neighborhood. You don’t want to see what made the neighborhood so special being pushed out.”
Regas, who has friends living in Wicker Park, takes note that the retailers are raising rent prices.
“It will be interesting to see what happens to the,” Regas said. “You walk down the streets and everything is now price reduced price reduced. It will be interesting to see if it will change back [in reference to the past gentrification that Wicker Park and Bucktown have seen].”
The trend however, is already having a negative side effect on the current art students that reside in Wicker Park or Bucktown.
According to Paula Barrington, Executive Director of the Wicker Park/Bucktown Chamber of Commerce, the neighborhood is experiencing a withdrawal of the student population due to the increase in rent.
“The trend is a positive and negative influence on our culture here,” Barrington said. “Students are leaving causing a huge deficit in income, but on the other hand we are getting wealthier residents so it is really up in the air right now.”
Trends come and go with time and the same still applies in Wicker Park. Wicker Park was once a high-end fashion community until students and artists moved into the neighborhood, causing the wealthy Ukrainian residents to move out. With time, this new trend may change.
It was mid-day Thursday, April 3, when Bella Mia, a freshman film major, was sitting inside the University Center, 525 S. State St., avoiding the rain that was due to start in the early evening.
Mia sat down in one of the numerous orange chairs in the lobby and described what her place of choice would be during the spring.
For Mia, Spring is all about getting sweaty, whether it is playing Frisbee in one of Chicago’s parks or going to gay night at the club Sangria, 901 W. Weed St. Mia can be spotted outdoors all through Spring and Summer.
Now it is Sunday, April 6, and the weather is anything but rainy. It is a warm 60 degrees with the sun shining brightly down on all who are outside. Cameron Peart, Zac Overstreet and Mara Stern were walking down State Street, on a quest for ice cream that will quench their dry throats.
All three had different ideas about what the hot places for them will be during the spring. But all agreed that being indoors was not an option. Chicago might have some of the hottest summers and coldest winters–but when it comes to Spring, everyone wants to be outdoors enjoying the middle ground between the two harshest Chicago seasons.
Source List.
All sources interviewed in-person
Zac Overstreet
Interviewed on April 6
312.815.7254
Cameron Peart
Interviewed on April 6
773.298.5817
Mara Stern
708.921.1090
Interviewed on April 6
Bella Mia
248.890.0808
Interviewed on April 3
The Wicker Park/Bucktown Chamber of Commerce has teamed up with the Special Service Area (SSA) No. 33 to gain more public interest in the future of the neighborhood.
Starting on March 29, SSA will be hosting open houses at 1275 N. Milwaukee Ave. that will have a multitude of activities that will allow residents in the area to discuss their past experiences in the neighborhood and what they hope the neighborhood will look like in the future. After March 29, the open houses will run for two weeks, each Saturday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Jamie Simone, Manager of SSA No. 33, has been spearheading the plans for the development of Wicker Park/Bucktown and creating the events during the open houses.
The SSA program was created 28 years ago in order to provide an organization that utilizes tax money to help maintain and develop commercial districts, Simone said. The Wicker Park/Bucktown SSA was created on November 23, 2005.
"The open houses are a way for the community at large to get involved with [the future planning for Wicker Park/Bucktown] and provide their vision of the future that will be incorporated with the master plan," Simone said.
At the open house, events will include a panel discussion, hosted by SSA, a mapping event where residents can map out the area with the most need for rehabilitation and children art workshops, Simone said.
Paula Barrington, Executive Director of the Wicker Park/Bucktown Chamber of Commerce has been loosely working with Simone to help advertise the open houses.
“The Special Service Area has long helped keep Wicker Park and Bucktown beautiful,” Barrington said. “SSA has a great plan for the future and all that the [chamber of commerce] and SSA wants is to have the public more involved in the decision making of what will become of this neighborhood in the future.”
SSA has no official plan on what will be developed and rehabilitated in Wicker Park and Bucktown, Simone said. What she does know is that the neighborhood will continue to grow because of the constant interested outsiders are showing in the area.
“The SSA does control who moves into the area,” Simone said. “We are here to talk to the new and old residents to gain an idea on what the community wants to see happen in the neighborhood. We want them to know that their tax dollars are being spent based on what they want.”
The SSA and the chamber of commerce will be discussing future events and ideas during the panel discussions.
