It rained on a recent Sunday morning, and vendors still set up at the Little Falls Train Station. Shoppers still came by. One of them was Lynann Dragone, a Totowa resident, picking up food before the New York Giants home opener that night.
"We came out to the Farmers Market to pick up some fresh produce and mozzarella for our tailgate," she told TAPinto.
That small scene captures a bigger shift in how Little Falls spends its weekends. This year the market moved a short distance off Main Street and into the station lot. This October, most of the town's calendar is set up around that Sunday morning, with the other events falling the night before or the afternoon after.
A Short Move With a Bigger Footprint
For past seasons the Little Falls Farmers Market ran at 225 Main St. In February the township announced the 2026 season would move to 82 Railroad Ave., at the train station. The market described the new site on social media as "just steps away from our former home at 225 Main Street," with "more space to shop, stroll, and enjoy!"
The address barely moved, but the market changed. Councilwoman Christine Hablitz runs the market with Lindsay Hessenius. She said the extra space let organizers add vendors and expand live entertainment, special events and partnerships with community groups. The lineup now goes well beyond produce. Over the season, vendors have sold fresh mozzarella and pasta, baked goods, empanadas, pickles, coffee, lemonade and locally brewed beer. On one September Sunday the vendors included The Gooey Roll Co., Amor Cocina, Jersey Pickles, Caldino's, Lulu's Artisanal Lemonade and Flounder Brewing Co.
The bigger lot also gave organizers room to plan one activity for every remaining Sunday. That scheduling is why the rest of October works the way it does.
Four Sundays, Each With Something Attached
The market runs Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., rain or shine. Its season closes October 25. Today is October 4, which leaves this Sunday and three more. Each one matches up with another event in town:
- Sunday, October 4. The market marks Breast Cancer Awareness Week with awareness and support activities, plus live music from Aloft Trio.
- Sunday, October 11. The morning brings a Dog Parade and Costume Contest at the station, and the Knights of Columbus will run a community food drive. The market closes at 2 p.m., the same time the Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center at 8 Yogi Berra Dr. starts its screening of the 1956 Perfect Game. The screening runs until 4 p.m. and is included with museum admission.
- Sunday, October 18. The Little Falls 5K Spooky Sprint starts at 9 a.m. at the Sports and Recreation Complex, 160 Paterson Ave. The market opens that same hour and holds pumpkin decorating with the Friends of the Library. A runner can finish the race and still have most of the market morning left.
- Sunday, October 25. The season ends with a Halloween celebration, featuring a costume parade and trick-or-treating throughout the market.
Hablitz's pitch for the last few weeks is simple. "There's still time to come out and experience it," she said. "Even if you haven't been able to visit yet this season, we would love to see you during one of our remaining weeks."
Saturday Night Belongs to 81 Main Street
If the station has Sunday morning, Hearth & Honey has Saturday night. The café at 81 Main St. is owned by Brett and Chloe Elia. Its menu is gluten-free, dairy-free and seed-oil-free. Brett is the chef, and he gets in around 5 a.m. each day to make the pastries.
"It's our house. So being able to open our house to people, you're coming into our living room." Chloe Elia, speaking to TAPinto
Every Saturday night in October, that living room becomes Hearth & Horror. There are two seatings, 5 to 7 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Each one has live scare actors and a special menu for about 25 to 30 guests. The scares have real experience behind them. Brett once organized a haunted trail in the couple's community that drew about 1,000 people and used 25 to 30 scare actors. Chloe spent about three months learning to walk on stilts when he needed a performer for one of his events.
The evening menu is different from the daytime one but follows the same ingredient rules. Planned dishes include the Bloody Harvest Salad, with arugula, house-made candied pecans coated in coconut sugar, beet relish, apples and a balsamic lemon vinaigrette. There's also the Art Burger, named for Art the Clown from Terrifier. Expect latte art and specialty mocktails. No alcohol is served. Coverage didn't include a reservation method or price, so check with the café directly before you go.
The October calendar sets up two Saturdays to plan around. On October 10, the Little Falls Public Library Gala Fundraiser starts at 6 p.m. at the library, 8 Warren St., during the first Hearth & Horror seating. The market's last day is Sunday, October 25, but October has one more Saturday after it, and that Saturday is October 31. Hearth & Horror's final night falls on Halloween itself, after the market has closed for the year.
Getting There While Main Street Is Being Rebuilt
The weekends are the easy part. Weekday trips downtown this month mean dealing with roadwork, and some of it sits along the streets between the café and the station.
In July, the Township Council unanimously awarded Garfield-based Zuccaro Inc. a $383,820 contract. It extends the Main Street streetscape from Maple Street to Van Ness Avenue. Zuccaro's was the lowest of six bids. The others ran from $518,102 to $995,500. Mayor James Damiano said the work, including lighting improvements, will be paid for entirely with state grant funds. A separate, already-awarded segment runs down Van Ness Avenue to the Dunkin' Donuts strip mall and the Tulip Meadows entrance. That segment is waiting on PSE&G to provide required red lines before work can begin.
The township's two-week look-ahead, starting October 5, adds utility work on top of that:
- Cedar Grove Road, between Main Street and Lindsley, with Saturday work expected on October 3
- Little Falls Road, between Lindsley and the train tracks
- Ridge Road, between Squirehill and Notch Park Road, and between Francisco Avenue and Cedar Street
- Stevens Avenue, between Main Street and Lindsley
- East Main Street, where streetscape work continues with alternating traffic and police direction
The estimated windows are October 5 through 9, with work expected to continue October 12 through 16. The township notes that "these dates and locations are estimates only" and depend on weather and field conditions. The Little Falls Road segment runs up to the train tracks, which makes it the closest item on the list to the station.
Downtown also has coffee at Ethan and the Bean, 98 Main St., which was included in Montclair Local's September coffee guide. Maggie's Town Tavern is at 10 Van Ness Ave., right along the street where the next round of streetscape work is planned. Off the Main Street grid, Fournos Greek Café & Eatery held its grand opening on August 13 at 208 Newark-Pompton Turnpike.
The market closes for the season on October 25. On October 31, two seatings at 81 Main St. close out the month.
Seeing how a town's weekends rearrange around one move, from 225 Main St. to 82 Railroad Ave., is part of knowing a place well, and that's the kind of local detail Orsini Real Estate & Marketing Group follows across Little Falls and the nearby Essex County towns. If you're curious how the streetscape work and a stronger downtown calendar might factor into your home's value, request a free home valuation and we'll walk you through it.
