A 1969 ordinance shapes the Paramus weekend more than any mall marketing calendar does. Retail stops on Sunday, but meals and recreation keep going. Read with that rule in mind, the October 2026 calendar sorts itself. Friday nights and Saturdays go to markets, screenings and shopping-center events. Sunday goes to food, play and the county zoo.
That split is what makes a weekend in town work right now, and it explains why one of this fall's biggest Bergen Town Center events falls on a Sunday at a center whose posted hours say it's closed Sundays.
What the Borough Actually Wrote Down
Bergen is the only county in New Jersey that enforces blue laws. The county's own retail guide says Paramus "strictly observes these laws, therefore major malls and other retail stores are closed on Sunday." The borough's own Chapter 391, adopted by the Borough Council on May 14, 1969, is broader on its face than the county statute. Its core sentence:
No worldly employment or business, except works of necessity and charity, shall be performed or practiced by any person within the Borough on the first day of the week, commonly called and hereinafter designated as "Sunday."
The exemptions shape the Sunday calendar. The same chapter allows "the preparation and sale of drugs, meals, prepared food, perishable agricultural and horticultural product and nonalcoholic beverages on Sunday." It also protects taking part in "any form of recreation, sport or amusement that is not unlawful on other days of the week." NJ Spotlight News reported in May 2026 that restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations and pharmacies may operate and that entertainment venues can stay open. The restriction covers nonessential retail.
So the law permits two kinds of Sunday activity, eating and playing. Here's the month laid out by day.
| Date | Day | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 9 | Friday | The Rocky Horror Picture Show | Bergen Town Center garage, 5th floor |
| Oct. 9 | Friday | Pocketbook Bingo + Tricky Tray | Our Lady of Visitation School |
| Oct. 10 | Saturday | Artisan Market | Bergen Town Center, Center Court |
| Oct. 16–17 | Friday–Saturday | Zoo Boo, day and evening | Bergen County Zoo |
| Oct. 18 | Sunday | Zoo Boo, daytime only | Bergen County Zoo |
| Oct. 24 | Saturday | Last Yoga for the Soul session | Bergen Town Center |
| Oct. 31 | Saturday | Halloween Party | Bergen Town Center, Center Court |
| Nov. 8 | Sunday | 4th Annual Fall Food Truck Festival | Bergen Town Center, Route 4 lot |
Friday and Saturday Belong to the Shopping Centers
Bergen Town Center has the busiest Friday-and-Saturday calendar in town this month. On Friday, October 9, it's showing The Rocky Horror Picture Show from 7 to 11 p.m. on the fifth floor of its parking garage. Tickets are $10, each one comes with a swag bag of approved props, and food is sold on site. The rain date is Saturday, October 10. The center says to park on Level 3A, marked yellow, and take the elevator up to the fifth floor.
That same Friday at 5:30 p.m., Happy Tails Animal Rescue holds its Pocketbook Bingo + Tricky Tray at Our Lady of Visitation School, 234 N. Farview Ave.
The next day, Saturday, October 10, the center's Artisan Market runs from noon to 7 p.m. at Center Court near Kohl's, with more than 25 artisans and vendors. On a Rocky Horror rain-out weekend, the market and the screening would both fall on that Saturday.
Saturday mornings have a standing slot too. The free Yoga for the Soul series meets at 9 a.m., and its last session of 2026 is October 24. Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and the center is holding a free Halloween Party that morning from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Center Court by Kohl's, with face painting, balloon artists and crafts.
Every one of these events either sits next to retail or happens inside a retail property, and every one is scheduled on a day the stores can open.
Sunday Belongs to Food and Play
On the other side of the weekend, Westfield Garden State Plaza runs an Open Sundays program under the tagline "Eat. Drink. Play." The list follows the ordinance's exemptions closely. On the play side it includes AMC Theaters, Dopamine Land, Pixar Putt, Planet Playskool, Go Playland, Horae Play and Slimee. On the dining side it runs from the food court to reservation-only rooms: The Capital Grille, Eddie V's Prime Seafood, Fogo de Chão, Seasons 52, Grand Lux Café, Bourbon Street Grill, California Pizza Kitchen, Chili's, Yong Kang Street, Dumpling Cafe, Ruby Thai Kitchen, Suki Hana, Tojo's Kitchen and Shake Shack. Hours differ from tenant to tenant, so the live list is the one to check before heading over.
Kura Sushi is on that list, which matters this month. Westfield lists "The Apothecary Diaries x Kura Sushi Bikkura Pon Collaboration" running from September 18 through October 31. That gives the collaboration about six weeks of runway, and Sundays count.
Bergen Town Center's official hours page lists the center as closed on Sundays. Ruth's Chris Steak House still serves Sunday dinner from 4 to 9 p.m. from its exterior building along East Spring Valley Avenue, next to Bond Vet.
Outside the malls, October's main Sunday event is at the zoo. The Friends of Bergen County Zoo will run Zoo Boo 2026 on three days:
- Friday, October 16, 6 to 9 p.m., rain date October 23
- Saturday, October 17, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m., rain date October 24
- Sunday, October 18, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., rain date October 25
The grounds are fully decorated with trick-or-treat stations. Daytime visitors get a family train ride, and after dark there's a haunted train ride. The Sunday session ends at 5 p.m., so the after-dark haunted ride runs only on the Friday and Saturday nights. Zoo and train tickets are sold online only, and carousel tickets are sold in person for cash. For a family with younger children, the Sunday daytime session is the calmer option. Families chasing the spooky ride need one of the evening sessions.
The New Openings Sort Along the Same Line
This fall's openings split along the same retail-and-dining line. The retail additions keep Monday-through-Saturday hours. Disney Store Limited Time opened at 4 p.m. on September 3 in the former PINK space on Level 1 of Garden State Plaza, between A Sneaker City and Clarks. NJBIZ reported on September 28 that ThirdLove's opening has moved to October 24, a Saturday, though Westfield's tenant page still says "coming soon." Vivaia and Hoka had both opened by early June, NorthJersey.com reported. Westfield now labels Edikted and DIGISO "Now Open."
The food openings fall on the side of the ordinance that allows Sunday sales, though each tenant still sets its own hours:
- Canton Rodeo, a slow-roasted Hong Kong barbecue concept, is open at 605 Bergen Town Center.
- Sweet Kitchen and Kong Dog had opened at Garden State Plaza by June, with Kong Dog in the food court.
- Blue Bottle Coffee carries a "Now Open" label on Westfield's center page.
- Liv Breads is listed by Westfield as opening in October 2026, with no day given yet.
Some names from earlier announcements don't have firm dates yet. Bergen Town Center's April announcement of seven additions, including Elev8tion Fitness, Pilates Addiction, Capons and Swarovski, put Tatte Bakery & Cafe's expected opening in May 2027. Raising Cane's plans a drive-through at 55 Route 4 W., on the former Stickley Furniture site, and as of NJBIZ's August report the chain hadn't given a timeline. Kabab Cafe, a Mediterranean cafe and bakery, was preparing to open at 501 NJ-17 South as of June, with no day announced.
November 8, in a Parking Lot
The ordinance's logic shows most clearly in the date of Bergen Town Center's 4th Annual Fall Food Truck Festival. It falls on Sunday, November 8, from noon to 5 p.m., in the Route 4 parking lot outside World Market, with Sunday, November 15, as the rain date. The center bills it as "food, football, and fun," with entertainment and activities for the whole family.
The center's posted hours list it as closed that day. The trucks in front of the stores will be selling prepared food, which Chapter 391 expressly allows on Sundays. The center picked the one day its stores can't open and filled it with the one thing the law allows.
Sunday hours, foot traffic and a well-timed event calendar all affect how a Paramus property feels to the people who live near it. Taylor Lucyk follows that local calendar as closely as the sales data. When you're ready to see what your home is worth in today's Paramus market, request your luxury home valuation from our team.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
