Food Truck Owners To Challenge Evanston Food Truck Ordinance In Court

By Anthony Todd in Food on Aug 8, 2012 9:20PM

While all the attention has been on the fight over the Chicago food truck ordinance, another battle has been brewing to the north. Evanston has a different law on the books; it requires that all food truck owners also operate brick-and-mortar restaurants. No independent food trucks are allowed. The owners of the Beavers Donuts food truck want to do business in Evanston and are planning to bring a lawsuit challenging that ordinance.

The Sun-Times reports that Evanston passed their food truck ordinance back in 2010, before most of the current flap over food trucks. The first truck to get a license was the Hummingbird Kitchens truck, and the owner of the truck also owns two restaurants. The Beavers Donuts truck owners, James Nuccio and Gabriel Wiesen, don't own anything in Evanston.

Their truck has been popular in Chicago, especially with college students looking for a donut fix. They've operated in Evanston before, but only with special permits for events. Now, they want to go there regularly, and claim they should have the legal right to do so.

“The Illinois Constitution guarantees equal protection and due process under law,” said Huebert. “But Evanston isn’t treating people equally. The city is giving restaurant owners a special right that it won’t give to everyone else, for no legitimate reason.”

The Evanston corporation counsel has announced that he will vigorously defend the ordinance.