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WILL Earns Injunction to Keep Food Trucks Open
Food trucks in Milwaukee will not have to close early because of street crime, at least for now.
A Milwaukee County judge on Monday issued an injunction against Milwaukee’s new ordinance that would have forced food trucks to close at 10 p.m.
Milwaukee leaders argue the food truck hours are necessary to avoid large crowds, fights, and even violence along the city’s popular bar string. But the judge said there’s no evidence of a connection between the food trucks and the violence plaguing Milwaukee.
"The City offered no proof—just naked conclusions––that curtailing the hours of operation by food trucks will reduce, or deter, or un-motivate the movement of crowds of people into the entertainment areas during the 10:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. timeframe. There was no evidence presented by the City of Milwaukee that food trucks are some kind of or sort of magnet to the underage drinking individuals and sometimes under-curfew-age individuals that engage in violent acts," the judge wrote.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, which sued over Milwaukee's food truck rules, said the decision is a victory for small business owners.
“This ordinance was unlawful and should serve as a warning to local governments that they are not above the law. Milwaukee’s attempt to blame small business owners for its violent crime problem made no sense," WILL's Kirsten Atanasoff said. "Food truck operators...work hard to serve their communities and earn an honest living, and have every right to operate, just as brick-and-mortar restaurants do. Milwaukee needs to address its crime problems, but this was not the way.”
The judge’s injunction is not, however, the final decision. The food truck owners are simply getting a reprieve as their case makes its way through the courts. And for now, food trucks along Water Street will be allowed to stay open until 1 am.
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