Philadelphia food truck owners struggle after new curfew takes effect

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Food truck owners in Philadelphia said not only are they losing a significant amount of business, but now they feel targeted by city leaders for speaking out.

"There's no business. We're not making no money," said Edward Bonilla, who owns the 5th Street Super Food Truck in Hunting Park.

Bonilla is one of many vendors worried about the future of his food trucks since city council members passed a new curfew requiring certain businesses to close at 11 p.m.

"The 100% we would do before curfew, we lost like 75%," said Bonilla.

Jose Reynoso had to lay off two employees to make ends meet.

A friend translated for him outside his truck in Juniata Park: "He feels as though he's not making as much money, and one day in the future he might have to close doors, unfortunately."

Both men expressed their concerns about the curfew's impact at a city council meeting last week. Bonilla said hours later on that same day, L&I, police, and the Parking Authority arrived to inspect his truck. Bonilla said they towed the truck for an expired vehicle registration, which cost him hundreds of dollars in fees and lost income.

"I got too many food trucks, and I really forgot," said Bonilla. "When I told the officer, 'Can you give me a break? Let me renew it now. It's like 10 minutes.' He said, 'Oh, no.'"

While Bonilla felt like it was retaliation for speaking out.

City leaders said the enforcement was pre-planned, adding in a statement, "It was towed because he had an expired permit. He is one of several owners towed or shut down for reasons like illegal electrical hookups, not proper licensing, parking on sidewalks when it is not legal, etc."

Bonilla provided documentation showing sales and food license permits expiring in 2026. He reiterates he was towed for expired vehicle registration.

"I hope they do it to everybody, not only us, because that's how we feel," said Bonilla.

The nonprofit law firm, Institute for Justice, sent a letter to the city solicitor stating, "This timing is impossible to ignore. If, as the timing suggests, these enforcement actions were taken because of the food truck owners' speech, then the enforcement actions are blatantly unconstitutional, and the Institute for Justice demands that the city refrain from further retaliatory conduct."

The senior attorney said they'll closely monitor the city's actions. Meanwhile, owners hope local leaders reconsider the curfew to help them thrive.

"If they extend their curfew to at least 1 a.m., he'll be able to maintain employees, but also make a little bit more money," said Reynoso's translator.

"They gotta know people gotta work to live. If we have no business, we have to leave to another city. We don't want that," said Bonilla.

As owners figure out how to keep their business afloat, city leaders said enforcement will continue on a regular basis.