MILWAUKEE — Food truck owners on Milwaukee's Water Street are hoping a meeting with the office of mayor Cavalier Johnson Friday will push elected officials to delay a new curfew ordinance before it takes effect next weekend.
The ordinance, which passed Milwaukee's Common Council unanimously last week, requires food trucks downtown to close by 10 p.m. — three hours earlier than the current closing time. The measure was passed in an effort to curb violence on Water Street.
Abdallah Ismail, owner of The Fatty Patty, said the Friday meeting left him feeling more optimistic.
"We had the meeting today, overall it was a positive meeting," Ismail said.
Ismail said he discussed ways food truck owners and the city could work together to address violence and expressed hope the city would delay the ordinance. A spokesperson for the mayor said the discussion would be relayed to Milwaukee's alders, and while the mayor understands the concerns, he is also concerned with Water Street behavior.
One person Ismail has not been able to reach is Alderman Robert Bauman, who authored the ordinance.
Watch: Food truck owners push for delay of Water Street curfew after meeting with mayor's office
"I emailed him personally, I emailed his office, I tried to call the office, no answer unfortunately," Ismail said.
In an email, Bauman told TMJ4 he has not met with any food truck vendors but is aware of their objections. When I asked whether there had been any discussion of amending the ordinance before next weekend, he said it would be impossible, writing:
"Any changes would require the introduction of a new file to amend the ordinance which would then go through the full committee process and ultimately go before the full council."
For customers like Vinnie Buttitta, who stops at The Fatty Patty for a late-night snack after working the night shift, the curfew is unwelcome news.
"I'm pissed," Buttitta said. "It's sad that they'd just shut that down, it's a ton of business that you're just kind of cutting off for a lot of these people."
Vanessa Gonzales, owner of Mr. Taco, said she wants city officials to do more than simply acknowledge the concerns.
"They should hear us, and not only hear us, but care about how we feel about the whole situation not just block us out, blocking us out is not fair," Gonzales said.
Owners say they are hoping for another meeting next week as the clock counts down before the curfew takes effect.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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