Chez TJ closes in Mountain View
Chez TJ, a longtime family‑run restaurant in downtown Mountain View that once held Michelin recognition, has announced it is closing after decades in business. Local coverage frames the shutdown as the end of a long chapter for the Bay Area dining scene and notes the restaurant’s history of accolades (whatnow.com).
Chez TJ, the longtime fine-dining restaurant in downtown Mountain View, closed this week after more than four decades in business. (mv-voice.com) Mountain View Voice reported the restaurant shut its doors on Tuesday, April 14, and owner George Aviet said health problems and financial difficulties drove the decision. (mv-voice.com) Chez TJ operated at 938 Villa Street in a Victorian house near Castro Street, serving a tasting-menu format built around contemporary French cooking and seasonal Northern California ingredients. (cheztj.com) The restaurant’s website said it had welcomed diners for “over four decades,” placing its run back to the early 1980s. What Now San Francisco reported the business opened in 1982. (cheztj.com) (whatnow.com) Chez TJ spent years as one of Silicon Valley’s best-known special-occasion restaurants, in a city better known for office campuses and casual dining than formal tasting menus. Mountain View Voice said the restaurant helped put Mountain View on the map as a fine-dining destination. (mv-voice.com) Its Michelin history was a big part of that reputation. What Now San Francisco reported Chez TJ first earned a Michelin star in 2007 and reached two stars in 2007 and again in 2009. (whatnow.com) The restaurant no longer appears among the Bay Area’s current Michelin-starred list, and the San Francisco Chronicle’s guide to Michelin stars in the region describes the annual churn of additions and removals. (sfchronicle.com) Aviet announced the closure in an Instagram post, according to the Palo Alto Daily Post, and the restaurant stopped taking reservations on its website the same day. (padailypost.com) (cheztj.com) Chez TJ also served as a training ground for notable chefs over the years. Mountain View Voice said the restaurant launched careers that later reached a national and international profile. (mv-voice.com) Its closing adds another name to the Bay Area’s recent list of restaurant shutdowns, including several long-running and high-end spots tracked by local outlets. (sfchronicle.com) For Mountain View, the loss is concrete: one fewer destination restaurant on Villa Street, and the end of a 40-plus-year run in the same house. (cheztj.com) (mv-voice.com)
