Chez TJ closing in Mountain View

Chez TJ has closed in Mountain View, ending a 43-year run for one of Silicon Valley’s best-known fine-dining restaurants. (mv-voice.com) Owner George Aviet announced the shutdown in an Instagram post this week, and the restaurant stopped taking reservations on its website. Mountain View Voice reported the final closure came Tuesday, April 14. (padailypost.com) (mv-voice.com) Chez TJ opened in November 1982 at 938 Villa Street, inside the 1894 Weilheimer House. The restaurant was named for co-founder Thomas J. McCombie, who bought the property with Aviet in the early 1980s. (cheztj.com) (sfgate.com) The restaurant held at least one Michelin star from 2006 through 2024, and it carried two stars from 2007 to 2009. Michelin dropped Chez TJ from its starred list at the 2025 California ceremony in Sacramento. (guide.michelin.com) (sfgate.com) Its closing lands after a difficult stretch for Bay Area fine dining, where high labor costs, thinner post-pandemic demand, and the loss of Michelin recognition can all squeeze a small independent restaurant. Aviet told Mountain View Voice the decision came down to “health and financial difficulties.” (mv-voice.com) Chez TJ also spent years at the center of a fight over what should happen to its property. Aviet had pursued redevelopment plans tied to the site, but city officials and preservation advocates opposed moving or demolishing the historic house. (mv-voice.com) (sfgate.com) The building itself carried almost as much history as the menu. The Weilheimer House was added to the California Register of Historical Resources in 2019, years after local debate over its future. (cheztj.com) (sfgate.com) Chez TJ’s kitchen became a training ground for chefs who later built major names of their own, including Christopher Kostow and Josh Skenes. For Mountain View, the restaurant helped make a downtown better known for tech offices into a destination for tasting-menu dining. (mv-voice.com) (eastbaytimes.com) Aviet closed his note to diners by thanking guests for years of anniversaries, proposals, and celebrations around its tables. After four decades in the Victorian on Villa Street, Chez TJ is now part of Mountain View’s restaurant history. (padailypost.com)