Milwaukee's Burnham Park food truck zone a 'win-win'

MILWAUKEE - At Milwaukee's Burnham Park, vendors called a new food truck zone a "win-win" Wednesday, Aug. 9.

The past few months were filled with uncertainty for food truck owners.

"I really worked hard for this spot, for this place to open up my business," said Jennifer Antunez, owner of Tacos El Pastorcito Mixe.

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"Having that thought behind your head, all the time, whether you are going to be moved or not," said Alexander Lopez, owner of Isa's Ice Cream.

In May, the city passed new legislation to regulate when and where food trucks could operate. The new zoning required vendors to apply for a parking spot at Burnham Park.

Burnham Park food truck zone, Milwaukee

"In that legislation, we created a Type 2 food truck zone to be implemented on Burnham Street," said Ald. JoCasta Zamarripa. "This would allow us to address the density of food trucks in particular, we were often seeing upwards of 10 food trucks – creating a public safety issue for neighbors."

But many trucks had already been selling on this street for years. 

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"We didn’t want anybody to leave, obviously, just because we know some people depend on this business," Lopez said.

"One of my biggest concerns was how they pick out who was going to stay," said Antunez.

For those vendors and more, the process worked out in the end.

Burnham Park food truck zone, Milwaukee

"Every food truck operator who applied did in fact receive a parking spot on Burnham Street," Zamarripa said. "My hope is that this historic food truck zone will be a solution for all of us."

As of Wednesday morning, six food trucks were up and running in their new, designated spots.

"We are now a food truck community – a food truck family, as we like to call it," said Antunez.