Burnham Park Food Truck Zone Unveiled

Alderwoman JoCasta Zamarripa stands with food truck operators at a press conference. Photo taken Aug. 9, 2023 by Sophie Bolich.

Cheers erupted from a group gathered near Burnham Park Wednesday morning, as Alderwoman JoCasta Zamarripa tore away a temporary no parking sign to reveal a new curbside message: no stopping except permitted food peddler vehicles.

The gesture marked the official unveiling of a new, Type 2 food truck zone adjacent to the southside park. The density-limited zone allows only those operators who have applied for and received approval from the city to occupy a parking spot on the street.

Starting this week, that includes Tacos el Charrito, JC King’s Tortas, Mexicano Express, Taqueria la Brazita, Tacos El Pastorcito Mixe and Isa’s Ice Cream. Two additional vendors, Taqueria Isabel and Birrieria La Tia Juana, will be stationed just a few blocks west, near the intersection of 39th and Burnham Streets.

“I am proud to announce that every food truck operator who applied for a spot did in fact receive a parking spot on Burnham Street,” said Zamarripa, who called the new zone historic, and touted the collaboration between operators, neighbors and city officials in finding an alternative solution to a full ban, which she said “has been done time and time again in the past.”

“A big thank you to the neighbors here at Burnham Park for their patience and their persistence, Zamarripa said. “So many of you were on all sides of this issue, and what we did was try to find a compromise.”

A number of food truck operators were also present at the Wednesday press conference, along with representatives of Safe & Sound, VIA CDC, the Milwaukee Health Department, Department of Public Works and Milwaukee Police Department.

Alexander Lopez of Isa’s Ice Cream said that he’s satisfied with the outcome of the Type 2 zoning, despite uncertainty early in the process.

“The only difficult part was the waiting game,” he said. “Once you apply, you don’t know if you’re going to get the spot or not.

Lopez applied for the parking spot on June 1 and received approval after six weeks.

“I’m satisfied, you know, it’s unfortunate that we had to come to this extreme,” he said. “But I’m satisfied that we were able to find a solution and we’re now able to operate without any stress.”

Changes at Burnham Park were part of a broader proposal put forth by Zamarripa and Alderman Jonathan Brostoff in May. The policy also included major changes for how and when food trucks operate Downtown, on W. Lincoln Avenue and near restaurants.

The spots were to be awarded on a seniority basis according to the regulatory framework.

The new regulations at Burnham Park are aimed at resolving issues that arose from a high concentration of food trucks in the area, which Zamarripa said led to safety hazards for both residents and operators.

“We were often seeing upwards of 10 food trucks, creating a public safety issue for neighbors and the children and families trying to patronize Burnham park here, as well as the food trucks themselves,” she said.

Downtown is now a Type 1 zone, which restricts food trucks to operating only until 1 a.m. (instead of 3 a.m. citywide) and not for more than six hours at a time in the zone.

The Milwaukee Common Council unanimously approved the policy on May 31.

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