Beat Kitchen on the Riverwalk Files Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit Against City of Chicago
Complaint alleges constitutional violations, illegal contracting practices, and race-based discrimination in Riverwalk vendor selection
CHICAGO (December 16, 2025) — Beat Kitchen on the Riverwalk has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Chicago, alleging the city awarded a Riverwalk concession contract through a discriminatory and unlawful process that violated the Constitution, civil rights statutes, and city procurement law. The filing can be viewed here.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, names the city and several current and former officials as defendants. It follows an earlier action filed in Cook County Circuit Court. According to the complaint, records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act revealed that the City violated procurement rules designed to ensure compliance with federal law. Those findings raised serious constitutional and civil rights concerns, prompting the case to be refiled in federal court.
The 43-page federal filing details claims under the Equal Protection Clause, Due Process Clause, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and the Illinois Civil Rights Act. The suit alleges that city officials manipulated the 2024 Riverwalk RFP process, improperly solicited and scored a late vendor proposal, and embedded unauthorized race-based selection criteria into what was legally required to be a neutral, competitive, and transparent contracting process.
The City took federal money to build the Riverwalk. That money came with clear rules to ensure fairness and protect public trust. The City broke those rules. Records released under FOIA show it accepted a late proposal, changed the scores, and removed the public from the process. Our lawsuit is a demand for reform. Federal court is the place to make that happen.
-Robert Gomez, owner of Beat Kitchen on the Riverwalk
According to the complaint, Beat Kitchen was the only vendor to submit a responsive proposal for a high-profile Riverwalk location. Despite this, the city’s evaluation committee allegedly gave a lower score to Beat Kitchen and solicited a late submission from a different vendor after the public deadline had passed. Internal communications cited in the lawsuit suggest that the late solicitation and altered scoring were done intentionally, in violation of the city’s municipal code.
The lawsuit also claims the contract was awarded under political pressure to fulfill race-prioritized economic directives, despite federal laws requiring race-neutral administration of public contracts funded with federal dollars.
Beat Kitchen operated on the Riverwalk from 2019 to 2023 and was seeking to continue its presence under a new license agreement issued through the city’s 2024 solicitation. The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief requiring the city to reissue the RFP under lawful procedures, as well as compensatory damages.
Photos, court filings, and interview availability with Robert Gomez and legal counsel are available upon request.
COMPLAINT: Beat Kitchen on the Riverwalk, LLC v. City of Chicago et al (1:25-cv-15081)
PDF - 211 Kb
