Lawsuit Seeks to Block Food Truck Curfew
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty argues city's food truck curfew is unconstitutional.
Food trucks parked on N. Water Street. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
One week after rallying at Milwaukee City Hall, food truck operators are escalating efforts to block a new ordinance limiting late-night operating hours.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty filed a lawsuit against the City of Milwaukee on Thursday, seeking an emergency court order to prevent the rule from taking effect May 9.
The ordinance, approved unanimously by the Milwaukee Common Council in April, bans food truck operations after 10 p.m. in areas of downtown and after 11 p.m. near Burnham Park.
“This ordinance is going to shut down small businesses and provide less affordable food options to workers and residents of our city,” said Abdallah Ismail, owner of The Fatty Patty and a plaintiff in the suit, 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.”
City leaders framed the restrictions as part of a broader push to improve safety in downtown entertainment districts after multiple high-profile shootings on Water Street last summer and an overnight shooting in March 2026 that killed one person and injured two others.
The Milwaukee School of Engineering, the Milwaukee Police Department and Milwaukee Downtown, Business Improvement District No. 21 have also expressed support for the measure.
Meanwhile, food truck operators and their supporters have voiced strong opposition, saying the curfew would shut down businesses during key operating hours. They also took issue with the city’s approach, with many claiming they weren’t notified of the ordinance until after it had already passed.
“The City of Milwaukee’s ordinance is an unlawful attack on good, honest small businesses,” said Kirsten Atanasoff, associate council at WILL, in a statement. “By aggressively limiting hours of sale while simultaneously keeping brick and mortar restaurants open, the city is violating the rights of our client.”
WILL argues the ordinance is unconstitutional, saying it violates operators’ “right to earn a living and the guarantee of equal treatment,” citing that food trucks are treated differently than bars and restaurants in the area.
“WILL is proud to help this small business owner oppose the city’s senseless policy,” the firm said.
Ismail told Urban Milwaukee the latest action follows a meeting last week between food truck operators and Mayor Cavalier Johnson, who signed the ordinance April 22. Ismail said he did not receive any additional communication, as was promised, from the mayor’s office following the meeting.
UPDATE: Jeff Fleming, communications director for the mayor, said no food truck operators have met directly with the mayor in recent weeks and no promises were made. “One staff person met with the Fatty Patty owner. The staff person told him he would share his specific concerns with the Mayor’s council liaison – and that happened,” wrote Fleming.
UPDATE: After publication, Tom Tiffany, a Republican candidate for Wisconsin Governor, weighed in on the issue: “Milwaukee’s solution to crime is… banning food trucks after 10 PM?” he wrote in a post on X. “Small business owners aren’t the problem. Criminals are. Maybe instead of going after neighborhood workers, the Common Council should support police, lock up criminals, and stop making excuses for crime.”
If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.
More about the 2026 Food Truck Regulations
- Council Delays Proposal to Fence Off Downtown Bar Districts - Jeramey Jannene - May 12th, 2026
- Not Just Food Trucks, Milwaukee Restricting Late Night Scooter Rides - Jeramey Jannene - May 12th, 2026
- Judge Blocks Milwaukee Ordinance Limiting Food Trucks Hours - Evan Casey - May 9th, 2026
- Lawsuit Seeks to Block Food Truck Curfew - Sophie Bolich - May 7th, 2026
- Food Truck Operators Rally at City Hall - Sophie Bolich - Apr 30th, 2026
- Milwaukee Takes First Step Toward Fencing Off Bar District - Jeramey Jannene - Apr 29th, 2026
- Downtown Food Truck Operators Balk at New Curfew - Sophie Bolich - Apr 27th, 2026
Read more about 2026 Food Truck Regulations here
I hate WILL they are racist rightwing whores, as much as I dislike the Ordinance. Food Truck operators should consider who they want to represent them.
I disagree with the city’s food truck ban, but the idea that the city can’t regulate or ban business activities in the public right of way is ridiculous. A court ruling in favor of WILL would set a disastrous precedent that would undermine local government. Also, maybe food truck operators should have to do things like contribute to BIDs where they set up shop.
Food trucks and their presence isn’t the problem…….the problem is the behavior of a sub-set of individuals who have chosen to disregard normal social values. Their aberrant behavior has also spread to other parts of the city causing many businesses to increase their business security (at an additional cost) or have closed. Until city officials decide to enforce the law, not much will change.
The City of Milwaukee needs to reconsider its decision and adjust the end time for the food trucks. As many have said, why penalize some of our most marginalized small businesses to a point that they can no longer exist. The problem is with the people on the street who are drunk and disorderly by midnight. Let’s find a middle ground and close the trucks at midnight and provide a curfew time for congregating on the streets. We know where the problem areas are on downtown streets, increase cameras and patrols during certain hours. Don’t put small businesses ‘our of business.’