Common Council Rejects Food Truck’s Appeal of Suspension

Food Trucks on W. Burnham St. Photo taken on Aug. 9, 2023 by Sophie Bolich.

Jennifer Antunez-Martinez appeared before the Milwaukee Common Council on Tuesday to appeal for a reduced suspension of her food truck’s licenses.

Antunez-Martinez owns El Pastorcito Mixe, which operates in a reserved spot in the Burnham Food Truck Zone in the Muskego Way neighborhood.

On Sept. 29, the Licenses Committee recommended the Milwaukee Common Council suspend the food truck’s license for 20 days, citing in part a prior violation in which the truck operated during a 10-day license suspension in 2025.

Antunez-Martinez addressed the council before its vote and said she was worried about her five employees, “who would go a month without work, which impacts them and their families,” if the recommended 20-day suspension was approved.

Following her testimony, the Milwaukee Common Council voted 13-0, with two alderpeople absent, to issue the 20-day suspension.

Grounds for Suspension

In 2025, the Milwaukee Police Department found El Pastorcito Mixe operating while under a 10-day license suspension issued to the truck that year. The MPD did not issue a citation but told the staff they were operating on a suspended license and to close down.

On Sept. 29, during a Licenses Committee meeting where the truck’s licenses were up for renewal, the police report from 2025 was read. Licenses Committee Chair JoCasta Zamarripa, who also represents the aldermanic district where the truck is located, said she witnessed the truck back in operation the day after MPD’s warning visit.

Antunez-Martinez testified that she believed the 2025 suspension period went into effect “immediately after” the Licenses Committee recommended it, claiming she proceeded to close down for 10 days. She said she did not understand the suspension period was scheduled to begin at a later date, and later realized she closed down for the wrong 10-day period.

“I misunderstood completely everything,” Antunez-Martinez told the committee, noting that she later watched meeting footage to better understand the process.

Licenses Committee Chair JoCasta Zamarripa said she doesn’t believe the truck shut down for 10 days immediately after the recommendation was made, citing witness testimony. If the truck did remain open during that time, it would mean it operated during the 10 days Antunez-Martinez said she believed it was suspended and during the actual suspension period.

“I was quite upset because you have the privilege of a reserved spot on Burnham that so many food truck operators would be grateful to have,” said Ald. Zamarripa. “I need to ask you to make sure that you adhere to your suspensions because you didn’t do that last year.”

The committee’s 20-day suspension recommendation follows a disciplinary approach that imposes increasingly strict penalties for repeat violations.

Antunez-Martinez repeated her testimony to the Milwaukee Common Council on Tuesday, adding, “I’m not here to object to a suspension, but I think there is a possibility of it being lowered.”

“It’s not so much about me,” she said. “It’s about my staff. They are really worried they are off for 20 days.”

Per the council’s final vote, El Pastorcito Mixe’s suspension begins Oct. 14 and ends Nov. 2.

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