Shortly after turning 50, Nathaniel Davis decided to quit his job at Dyson, a vacuum-cleaner manufacturing company, and start a food truck.

Davis had no professional experience cooking, but invested in a food truck, called Wicked Good Wiches, nonetheless.

“I’ve always really wanted to own a restaurant, but the idea of a food truck really grabbed me,” Davis said. “I decided, rather than continuing my career, I would do this.”

When Davis started the process of obtaining a license for a food truck in Evanston around six months ago, only businesses with a brick-and-mortar location in the city could operate a food truck. But in June, city council passed an ordinance that opened the food truck market in Evanston to businesses without a brick-and-mortar location.

Wicked Good Wiches is the first food truck in Evanston to be licensed under the new rules. And just four and a half weeks ago, he started operating in downtown Evanston. Davis typically is open for lunch on weekdays at the intersection of Chicago Avenue and Sheridan Road, near Allison Hall.

Evanston’s old food truck law also didn’t allow trucks to operate within 100 feet of any establishment that sold food, including schools and hotels.

This rule and the brick-and-mortar requirement led another food truck to sue the City. According to the lawsuit filed by Beavers Donuts, the two requirements were included in the ordinance for the “sole purpose of protecting Evanston’s brick-and-mortar food establishments from competition.”

Although the lawsuit was officially settled Tuesday, assistant city attorney Henry Ford Jr. said the process had begun months before. Beavers Donuts now has a license to operate a food truck in the city.

“The city council made its revisions to the food truck regulations and took care of some of the provisions that were an issue in the lawsuit,” Ford said. “The settlement was contingent on them obtaining a license.”

It is still unclear how the food trucks will affect restaurant business in Evanston. Students returning to campus bolster food truck business, said economic development coordinator Paul Zalmezak.

Ellyn Golden, environmental health license coordinator for the city, said the only licenses issued so far have been to Wicked Good Wiches and Beaver Donuts.

“The market will determine how its going to work,” Zalmezak said. “There’s a certain food truck craze going on right now, and people are into them, and we as a city really are obliged to let the competitive marketplace work itself out.”

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