Mayor's Office Clarifies Food Truck Operator Communications

# Mayor's Office Clarifies Food Truck Communications

The Mayor's Office released a statement this week clarifying what happened during recent conversations between city officials and food truck operators. Communications Director Jeff Fleming said that no food truck operators met directly with Mayor Cavalier Johnson in recent weeks, and the mayor made no promises to them. Fleming explained that one city staff member did meet with Abdallah Ismail, owner of Fatty Patty food truck, and that this staff member passed along Ismail's concerns to the Mayor's council liaison. This statement came in response to claims from food truck operators that they had been promised additional communication after meeting with the mayor's office.

This matters to Milwaukee residents because it relates to a new food truck curfew ordinance that the mayor signed on April 22, which limits when food trucks can operate late at night. Food truck operators have been pushing back against this rule, arguing it's unfair since bars and restaurants don't face the same restrictions. The dispute has escalated to a lawsuit filed by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, which claims the curfew violates operators' rights. How this gets resolved will affect where and when you can grab late-night food from mobile vendors around the city.

The clarification from the mayor's office suggests the city is not planning to reverse course on the curfew. The ordinance was set to take effect May 9, and the mayor's team is defending their position rather than reopening negotiations. The lawsuit will likely continue moving through the courts, where a judge will decide whether the curfew is constitutional. In the meantime, food trucks are operating under the new restrictions while the legal challenge plays out.