There was an interesting article on a CBS news site that stated, “Chicago loses four vegan, vegetarian restaurants in eight days.” Though putting this in context, the article concluded that there are still over 80 different restaurants across Chicagoland that serve vegan and vegetarian options. Veggie restaurants are having the same issues as meat-based restaurants that are closing, which include rising prices, scarcity of good affordable staff, immigration factors, high rents, and people changing where they go to eat, whether a meat eater or vegetarian. If there’s a restaurant you like, support it and encourage others to dine there. VegFests can have 10,000 plus attendees, but have similar issues. If there are less veggie restaurants and staff, it’s harder for food stands to quickly meet the needs of all the festival attendees. So have patience and empathy for the vegfest organizers and food stand workers. Unfortunately, a few negative people can ruin good events for everybody. So be positive, enthusiastic, and focus on what you love about the event or restaurant. Here are veggie restaurants around the U.S. and Canada to support: https://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php