The nine-month dispute between Evanston and food truck Beavers Coffee and Donuts continues this week, as the owners await the city’s response to their application to operate the vehicle in Evanston.
The conflict began last August, when Beavers sued Evanston in response to a city ordinance mandating all mobile food trucks to have a brick-and-mortar counterpart within city limits. The city subsequently filed a motion to dismiss the case, on the grounds that truck owners James Nuccio and Gabriel Wiesen had never actually applied for a license to operate in Evanston. A Cook County judge sided with the city in late January, dismissing the case and giving Beavers’ owners 60 days to file an amended complaint.
Nuccio and Wiesen decided to officially apply for a permit to operate in the city, filing an application March 22 with the city’s health department. The owners say they hadn’t done that previously because they believed their application would be denied. Jacob Huebert, Beavers’ lawyer, said city representatives have repeatedly guaranteed a response to the application, but Beavers has not yet received one.
The parties met in court last week, when the 60-day period had expired. A decision was delayed because Evanston has not responded to the license application.
If Evanston denies Beavers’ license application, as expected, Huebert said he and his clients will accommodate any concerns the city has, unless the reason for denial is the brick-and-mortar clause of the city ordinance.
“We’ll do what it takes to be legal, except (accommodate) the rule that we have to be owners of a licensed restaurant in Evanston,” Huebert said.
The case is scheduled for court Thursday, and if the city denies Beavers a license on the basis of the brick-and-mortar clause, the owners will ask the court for an additional 14 days to file an amended complaint, Huebert said.
“We’re going to continue to pursue this as vigorously as possible,” Wiesen said.
City representatives did not respond to requests for comment.
