Milwaukee food truck owner sues city over newly approved ordinance affecting curfew downtown 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A legal fight is cooking up over Milwaukee’s newly approved food truck ordinance that is set to go into effect at 10 p.m. on Saturday, May 9.

The ordinance was unanimously passed last month by Milwaukee’s Common Council as leaders said it would help curb late night violence and overall chaos in popular areas such as on Water Street downtown.

On Thursday morning, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) filed a lawsuit on behalf of Abdullah Ismail, the owner of a food truck called The Fatty Patty.

The lawsuit calls the new rules “unconstitutional” and is asking a judge to temporarily block the law before the weekend.

“Individuals have a right to earn an honest living under the Wisconsin constitution and when the government acts arbitrarily and irrationally as it does here, that infringes on that right,” said WILL Associate Counsel Kirsten Atanasoff.

During a press conference Thursday afternoon, Ismail said the ordinance targets his small business’s most popular hours and could force him to close.

“Ten o’clock is the big time for the next round so that’s mostly when I make my money and cover our expenses,” Ismail told CBS 58’s Ellie Nakamoto-White. “I respect their decision but again, blaming food trucks on this to stop violence or the violence or crowds based on just food trucks, it’s unfair, I mean, it doesn’t make sense.”

Ismail said while he’s the one behind the lawsuit, he’s spoken with multiple other food truck owners who agree with his sentiment.

“People ask about changing locations but it’s not going to work, especially in that area,” Ismail said. “We want to work with the city to solve this issue, it’s better to involve us and try to work together to do that but yeah, problem bigger than us honestly. Violence everywhere.”

The lawsuit says the ordinance interferes with owners’ ability to make a living, while also claiming the rules target food trucks specifically, while brick-and-mortar restaurants in the same area are allowed to keep their hours.

“People come out to Water Street for all sorts of things, they come out for the restaurants, they come out for the social scenes,” Atanasoff said. “So, to single out the food truck owners and blame them for the violent crime problem without requiring brick-and-mortar restaurants and bars to abide by the same curfew is singling them out for unfair treatment and that’s illegal.”

Alderman Robert Bauman, who represents the downtown area and who sponsored the restrictions, said Milwaukee’s city attorney fully vetted the ordinance before the final vote.

“The city attorney reviews the ordinance for legality and enforceability, and the city attorney certified that this ordinance was legal and enforceable. Had they not done that, we would not have passed it,” Ald. Bauman said, noting that the ordinance was filed after “numerous” complaints from stakeholders in the area. “The Milwaukee Police Department tells us that food trucks are part of the problem on Water Street, that they serve as a point of congregation for all the loitering underage people that come down to Water Street just to hang out. That loitering leads to confrontation, leads to fights, disorder, and in some cases, shootings.”

The alderman said the late-night activity could also lead to a negative reputation which is something he wants to avoid.

“We cannot allow the perception to take hold that downtown is dangerous and unsafe at night because that can have enormous economic consequences impacting the entire central business district,” Ald. Bauman said.

A hearing about the ordinance is scheduled for Friday morning at 10 a.m.

Stay with CBS 58 for the latest updates.