Is Hoboken SantaCon Going To The Dogs? Bar Has Alternative For Those Growling

HOBOKEN, NJ — As some revelers gear up for the annual SantaCon bar crawl in Hoboken this Saturday, others are grumbling about it and perhaps even growling.

One bar has a solution.

"We don't participate in Santa Con," said the Ale House at Eleventh Street and Willow Avenue this week. "Sat. 12 p.m.-6 p.m., your holiday dog gets your first draft free."

While SantaCon starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, according to listings for the crawl, you can bring your dressed-up doggo in front of Ale House starting at noon. The first draft (not drink) is free, and others are discounted after.

Organizers for the planned Dec. 17 Hoboken SantaCon have posted about the event on at least three different websites, including a list of more than eight participating bars, and a declaration that the event starts as early as 10 a.m.

Not everyone is a fan.

NJ Transit said a week ago that they're prohibiting all beverages on its buses and trains this Saturday, whether alcoholic or not, open or closed.

For several years, Hoboken Public Safety Director Ken Ferrante, formerly police chief, live-Tweeted SantaCon police responses.

"HOBOKEN SANTACON STATS," Ferrante wrote, tongue in cheek, in December 2018, "14 Arrested, 46 Tickets Issued, 33 Ordinance Violations, 4 Cops Injured, Brawl at a Burger Joint — and a Partridge in a Pear Tree."

But the Hoboken police have ramped up penalties for violations during bar crawls to keep the chaos to a minimum.

Watch Patch for updates.