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
