The Sunday Peace: Why Bergen County’s 300-Year-Old Blue Laws Still Ban Sunday Shopping in 2026
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Paramus NJ, If you try to buy a pair of jeans or a new sofa in Paramus on a Sunday, you’re out of luck. In a world of 24/7 e-commerce, Bergen County, New Jersey, stands alone as the last major stronghold of “Blue Laws”—legal restrictions that shut down nearly all retail commerce one day a week.
While the rest of the country shops through the weekend, Bergen County’s massive malls, like Westfield Garden State Plaza, go dark every Sunday. But why do these colonial-era laws still exist, and why did a massive lawsuit just hit the American Dream mall?
The 2025 Legal Showdown: Paramus vs. American Dream
The battle over Sunday shopping reached a boiling point in 2025. Officials in Paramus filed a high-profile lawsuit against the American Dream megamall in East Rutherford.
The accusation? Paramus claims American Dream is flouting county law by allowing retail stores to operate on Sundays under the guise of “entertainment.” Paramus Mayor Chris DiPiazza has called the move unfair to local businesses that strictly comply with the ban. While American Dream offers indoor skiing and theme parks on Sundays, the “retail creep” has sparked a fierce legal debate over what constitutes an “essential” service.
A History of “Vice and Immorality”
Bergen’s Blue Laws aren’t just a local quirk—they are a 300-year-old legacy.
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1704: The roots were planted in colonial times to enforce Sabbath observance.
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1798: The “Act to Suppress Vice and Immorality” was codified, banning travel, swearing, and even “leisurely” walking on Sundays.
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The Fine Print: In the 1800s, traveling more than 20 miles on a Sunday could get your goods confiscated, and swearing in public carried a 50-cent fine.
Originally rooted in Puritan tradition, these laws were designed to protect the “sanctity” of the day. While most of New Jersey repealed these mandates in the mid-20th century, Bergen County residents have consistently voted to keep them.
Why Do Voters Keep the Ban? (Hint: It’s Not Religion)
In the last major referendum in 1993, voters rejected a repeal by a 2-to-1 margin. Today, the support for Blue Laws is rarely about the church; it’s about quality of life.
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Traffic Relief: Paramus is home to one of the most concentrated retail corridors in the world. For residents, Sunday is the only day they can drive through their own town without “mall traffic” gridlock.
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A “Day of Rest”: Supporters argue that the laws provide a mandatory break for retail workers and a quiet suburban atmosphere for families.
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Economic Skepticism: Many local business owners fear that opening a seventh day would increase overhead costs (utilities, labor) without a guaranteed increase in weekly revenue.
What Can You Actually Buy on a Sunday?
The laws are famously specific—and often confusing. While you can’t buy a toaster or a t-shirt, you can buy:
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Food and Alcohol (Supermarkets remain open)
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Drugs and Medicines (Pharmacies)
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Books and Jewelry
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Candy and Garden Supplies
This “patchwork” of permissions creates a strange shopping experience where certain aisles in a “big box” store may be cordoned off with caution tape while others remain open.
The Future of the Sunday Ban
As the lawsuit against American Dream moves through the courts in 2026, the question remains: Can a 17th-century law survive a 21st-century economy? For now, the “Sunday Silence” remains a cherished (or cursed) part of the Bergen County identity.
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Blue Laws are awesome!
That may all be true. But BERGEN County loses a lot of money on a Sunday to other areas. And what happens is all that business that is lost on that day hurts local customers businesses. Because Monday and Tuesday even Wednesday are pretty much dead days, and they’re paying rent big rent, you make your money Thursday, Friday Saturday that Sunday is a big bonus day. If people shopped on a Sunday a little bit, they’ll be less traffic during the week. They should try that out, especially around the holidays. It should be your option if you would like to open up on a Sunday half a day I look live in Fairlawn and you need something on a Sunday for an emergency, you cannot run to Paramus to Home Depot and buy anything because it’s close. But yet you can go over the bridge into Patterson and everything is open and less tax figure that out. 🧐 yes I like my peace and quiet, but this whole area is exploding. Can you imagine another few years. If you own a business, you’re pretty much copy be open on a Sunday. It’s funny you can go buy food, but you can’t go and buy a pair of underwear if there’s an emergency.👊
Bergen businesses already know this but come here anyway and thrive. In my opinion the reason and purpose of the blue laws applies even more now. Respectfully, while your position sounds good, its similar to buying property near an airport, then complaining about the planes. But if someone wants to live in an area that is congested 7 days a week, they are free to do so.
Plan ahead for emergency underwear needs
You wash my little flower, one day you’re gonna shit right your pants and you’re gonna need a pair of underwear on a Sunday. You know what’s gonna happen you’ll be walking around all day with you a little friend in your pants rub it against a zipper, and then is going to be an emergency and you have to go to the hospital, and they need to take off of your pants and there you are laying there, naked, and embarrassed, oh yes,
It should be your option to open your store on a Sunday night. You’re paying rent diesel. Bullshit loss from the 60s are not working anymore.
That Bergen blue is such bullshit, you people up with thumbs down why don’t you spit on your thumb and slide it up your ass. You’re a bunch of hypocrites, oh not on Sunday, but the other six days a week you played devils advocate. I know who you are, enough of your bullshit. Remember back in the day when they used to hide the TV in the closet, yeah I do.
Get help. Soon
Loser
Did the TV come out of the closet before or after you?