Count Lakeview restaurant X/O Chicago among those eateries supporting immigrants' rights.
To show its support for the country's immigrant population and the role that non-natives play in the restaurant business, X/O Chicago, at 3441 N. Halsted, was closed May 1.
That date was also when a massive immigrants-rights rally took place in Chicago.
In a statement, Mark Kwiatkowski, owner of X/O Chicago, said that this nation's politicians 'need to recognize the essential role that our immigrant communities play in binding our country together and making it able to work and compete internationally.'
Many local restaurants also shut down May 1, among them Ina's, located in Chicago's West Loop, and Taqueria El Meson, a restaurant in the suburb of Cicero. Moreover, others that stayed open tried to coordinate schedules for employees, such as the Chicago-based Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, according to the Belleville News Democrat.
Other food companies across the nation will also participate. According to Bloomberg.com, Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson Foods Inc.—the world's largest meat producer—shut down nine U.S. beef plants and four pork plants to allow employees to demonstrate. The second-largest beef packer—Wayzata, Minn.-based Cargill Inc.—also closed some plants.
According to the Illinois Restaurant Association, that industry ranks first in the state in terms of the percentage of immigrant workers.