North Philadelphia food truck owners push back, say curfew cuts into business

Dozens of food truck owners in North Philadelphia started an online petition after they said the curfew ordinance is hurting their business.

“We need to open philadelphia for business instead of closing philadelphia for business,” Frank Rosario told NBC10.

Rosario was speaking on behalf of Jose Luis, who owns a food truck in Juniata. He said that ever since the new 11 p.m. curfew ordinance went into effect in the 7th District, he has seen an 80 percent decrease in sales because the majority of his customers come after midnight, and now they’re all gone.

This curfew also applies to smoke shops, corner stores, bodegas, and takeout restaurants. Only businesses with a liquor license or a 24/7 permit are allowed to stay open.

Rosario is a part of the Latino Food Truck Association, and they are behind a recent online petition that is looking to revoke the curfew ordinance or allow these businesses to stay open late.

“All they are trying to do is sell food. And we need the city to help them instead of trying to shut them down,” said Rosario.

The ordinance was introduced by Councilmember Quetcy Lozada. It began as a pilot program in Kensington and now applies to the entire district.

“When you apply for a food truck permit, that permit tells you very clearly that you are not supposed to operate 24 hours and that you should be shut down at 12,” said Lozada.

Lozada added that the ordinance is meant to increase quality of life and decrease crime in her district, which includes three of the five most violent areas in the city.

“When the bill fully went into effect, which was in October, we saw a drastic decrease in crime,” said Lozada.

Jimmy Duran, an independent small business consultant who is advising the Latino Food Truck Association, said food truck businesses don’t contribute to crime.

“Why don’t we consider other alternatives, such as more policing, maybe more community policing at night,” said Duran.

According to Duran, these businesses bring food to the table of many and help small business owners thrive in a struggling economy.

Duran adds, “One of them hired nine people at their peak, now they’re down to two. The husband and wife are having to do the business themselves. So you lost seven jobs. So you had a decrease in crime but you lost seven jobs.”

Lozada said the bill will be up for revision in 2028, but until then, the possibility is that it might expand to other districts in the city.