How late can a Guttenberg Halloween go this Saturday without anyone crossing the Hudson? Until 2 a.m. this year. Two of the places that make that possible did not exist last October.
The town's calendar for Saturday, Oct. 31, has a gap in the middle. It starts with a children's event at noon and picks back up with an adults' party at 7 p.m. In 2026, the businesses that opened along Park Avenue and Bergenline Avenue this summer fill the hours on either side of the town's events. Their start times line up with the town's closely enough that the whole day works as one plan. Here is how it runs:
- 6 a.m. Que Chilero Mucha opens at 6714 Bergenline Avenue.
- Noon. The Haunted Hallway and trick-or-treat start at the Gerald R. Drascheff Community Center.
- Afternoon. Monument Park on Boulevard East, newly renovated, sits next to the Galaxy Towers.
- 7 to 10 p.m. The town's 1980s Halloween party for adults runs in the lower level of Galaxy Towers Mall.
- 9 and 10:30 p.m. The Donny Trio plays two sets at Fat Swami's Jazz Bar & Lounge, 6900 Park Ave.
- Until 2 a.m. Que Chilero Mucha closes.
Noon at the Drascheff Center
The town's part of the day starts at 12 p.m. at the Gerald R. Drascheff Community Center, on Hudson Avenue between 68th and 69th Streets. According to the October 2026 Guttenberg newsletter, the center is setting up a haunted hallway "for those brave enough to enter." Kids then collect treats and goodie bags from local providers inside a decorated auditorium.
Two lines in that listing matter for timing. The town "strongly encourages" costumes, and the treats are handed out "while supplies last." So arriving close to noon gets the best of it. It also helps to have lunch sorted out ahead of time.
That is where the day's first new business comes in. Que Chilero Mucha opened at 6714 Bergenline Avenue on June 26 with a ribbon cutting. Its owners, Edgar Ajpuac Par and Angela Huitil, took over a former corner bar, gutted it, and put in a full kitchen. Per the town's August newsletter, the kitchen is open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. That makes it the only stop on this list open at both ends of the day.
The menu works for a cold late-October afternoon. It includes pepian, a thick stew that combines Mayan cooking traditions with Spanish colonial influences, and subanik, a ceremonial stew of mixed meats, chili peppers, and spices. Hilachas is beef simmered in a tomato-based sauce. For the kids still in costume, there are tacos, tamales, salchipapas, and churros. Atol de elote, a sweet corn drink served warm, makes sense for a walk afterward.
The afternoon belongs to Monument Park
The town has nothing scheduled between the end of trick-or-treat and 7 p.m. The renovated Monument Park, on the Palisades between 70th and 71st Streets next to the Galaxy Towers, fills that stretch well. The town says the 2026 renovation added new trees and flower beds, new paving and walkways, upgraded electrical, and new seating. The park was officially reopened with a ribbon cutting on Sep. 8.
The park also helps with the evening plan. It sits right beside Galaxy Towers, and the adults' party is in the lower level of Galaxy Towers Mall at 7002 Boulevard East. Someone who spends late afternoon on the new benches over the river is already next door when the party starts. The park is the same space that hosted the summer's Thursday DJ Nights while the renovation was being finished.
Where the town's evening hands off to Park Avenue
The town's adults' party has an '80s theme this year. The newsletter frames it as a trip "in Doc Brown's DeLorean" and asks guests to dress in "your gnarliest gear." There will be food, and DJ Jay Perez plays from 7 to 10 p.m.
A few blocks inland, Fat Swami's Jazz Bar & Lounge at 6900 Park Ave. has the Donny Trio on Saturday, Oct. 31, with sets at 9:00 and 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $30, according to the venue's calendar. The 10:30 set starts half an hour after the DJ stops at Galaxy Towers Mall. That is enough time to walk from Boulevard East to Park Avenue, still in costume, and get to the second set.
Fat Swami's opened with a ribbon cutting on June 24, 2026. NJ.com reported that owner Derek Rosenfeld, a North Bergen resident, calls it the only jazz-exclusive bar on this side of the Hudson. The outlet's headline idea was that Hudson County residents no longer need to go through the Lincoln Tunnel for a night of live jazz. Rosenfeld told NJ.com the idea had been building for more than a decade. It started when Garage, a Greenwich Village jazz club he had gone to since the late 1990s, closed in 2015.
The venue's own description sets out the range:
"From bebop to hardbop, from fusion to smooth, and from swing to modal"
On its website, the bar describes its interior as Middle Eastern décor with nods to Hindu mysticism, and it keeps the origin of the name to itself. That setting suits a Halloween crowd coming over from an '80s party.
After the last set, back to Bergenline
A 10:30 set lets out near midnight, and most kitchens are closed by then. Que Chilero Mucha's 2 a.m. closing time brings the day back to where it started. The restaurant that served lunch before the Haunted Hallway is the one still open after the jazz. The street addresses on this list run from 6714 Bergenline to 7002 Boulevard East, and the Drascheff Center and Monument Park sit on the cross streets between them, from 68th to 71st.
Both of the businesses that carry the day past midnight are 2026 openings: Fat Swami's on Park Avenue in June, and Que Chilero Mucha on Bergenline two days later.
The Friday before
Halloween weekend in Guttenberg starts a day early. The town's senior Halloween party is Friday, Oct. 30, at 5 p.m. in the community room at 7005 Boulevard East. Later that night, the Nate Tota Quartet plays Fat Swami's at 8:00 and 9:30 p.m. for $25.
The Friday ticket costs less and the first set starts an hour earlier than Saturday's. That difference shows up in every listing on the venue's calendar, which matters for planning past Halloween.
The Howl-o-Ween canine costume contest was set for Sunday, Oct. 25, at Waterfront Park. It had prizes for scariest, funniest, homemade, and owner-and-dog costumes, and the town listed Saturday, Nov. 7, as the rain date. Marisol Montanez, the town's Community Services Coordinator, can confirm which date it ran on at 201-868-2315, ext. 300.
The same clock runs into November
The Friday and Saturday pattern at Fat Swami's continues into the next two weeks:
| Date | Performer | Sets | Ticket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Nov. 6 | Wylde, Noviello & Kingsnorth | 8:00 & 9:30 p.m. | $25 |
| Sat., Nov. 7 | The Luke Richards Trio | 9:00 & 10:30 p.m. | $30 |
| Fri., Nov. 13 | The Joel Zelnik Trio | 8:00 & 9:30 p.m. | $25 |
Saturday, Nov. 7, is also the Howl-o-Ween rain date. If the contest was postponed, that would give Guttenberg another Saturday that starts at Waterfront Park and ends on Park Avenue, with Que Chilero Mucha open on Bergenline for the hours in between.
For Kaja Bolton at Hoboken Living, knowing which corner of Guttenberg is lit at 10:30 on a Saturday night is part of knowing the town. If you'd like to talk about the blocks between Bergenline and Boulevard East, we're always glad to hear from neighbors. Contact Us.
