(The Center Square) – A lawsuit was filed on Thursday seeking to block Milwaukee’s 10 p.m. food truck curfew, set to begin Saturday.
The curfew will begin at 11 p.m. at Burnham Park. The food truck curfew is an attempt to curb crime in the city.
The lawsuit, seeking an emergency stay of the new law before it begins, was filed by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty on behalf of Abdallah Ismail, owner of the Fatty Patty food trucks.
“This ordinance is going to shut down small businesses and provide less affordable food options to workers and residents of our city,” Ismail said in a statement. “Food truck owners create good food and provide a real service, but the city has made us into scapegoats for violence and crime. This cannot stand.”
The lawsuit argues that the new law interferes with Ismail’s ability to make a living and that it arbitrarily treats food trucks on Water Street differently than bars and restaurants in the area.
Alderman Bob Bauman previously said that the ordinance was necessary to control crime and “food trucks are a significant cause of the disorder that is taking place on Water Street, especially among underage individuals who can’t even patronize the bars.”
“By aggressively limiting hours of sale while simultaneously keeping brick and mortar restaurants open, the city is violating the rights of our client,” WILL Associate Counsel Kirsten Atanasoff said in a statement. “WILL is proud to help this small business owner oppose the city’s senseless policy.”
