A former Michelin-starred Bay Area restaurant has closed after 43 years.
Chez TJ, at 938 Villa St. in Mountain View, was a fine dining restaurant from owner George Aviet that served contemporary French cuisine and launched the careers of some of the Bay Area’s most decorated chefs.
Famously housed in a Queen Anne Victorian that looks like any other home on the block, the restaurant will be remembered for its thoughtfully curated tasting menu as well as for helping introduce modern fine dining to the heart of Silicon Valley.
The news was announced on the restaurant’s Instagram on Thursday, but no reason was given. According to the Mountain View Voice, Aviet closed the restaurant due to health reasons and financial difficulties.
“This has not been an easy decision, and one made with great care and reflection,” the Instagram post read. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who has dined with us, celebrated with us, and been part of our story over the years. From memorable evenings to meaningful milestones, it has been an honor to share our table with you.”
Opened in 1982, Chez TJ earned its first Michelin star in 2007 when the guide started covering the Bay Area. The restaurant held the star for 19 years before losing it in 2025. Over the years, the tasting menu featured items such as Charentais pelon pâte de fruit with jamón Ibérico, Alaskan halibut with squash and squash blossoms, as well as strawberry vinegar sorbet.
The talent that came through the Chez TJ kitchen is undeniable. Notable chefs include Joshua Skenes, who opened the now two-Michelin-star Saison in San Francisco, as well as Bruno Chemel, who went on to open his own fine dining restaurant Baumé in Palo Alto, according to the San Francisco Chronicle (the Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms). Christopher Kostow, of the formerly three-Michelin-starred Restaurant at Meadowood, was also a prominent chef who cooked at Chez TJ, the Chronicle reported.
A dish at Chez TJ in Mountain View, Calif. (Karen R./Yelp)
The restaurant saw a decline in patrons following the pandemic, the Mountain View Voice reported, even after a remodel that Aviet paid for and which ultimately did not attract new customers. Aviet experienced other hurdles, too. In 2017, he was approached by a developer who wanted to turn the Chez TJ lot into a four-story building with a restaurant, while preserving the 132-year-old Weilheimer House by relocating it to another part of Mountain View.
However, local residents aired their grievances about the idea, and the Mountain View City Council ultimately decided against relocating the house because of its historical significance. It left him feeling “betrayed by the city,” he told SFGATE in 2023. The plan was to eventually sell the new development so he had enough money to last him through retirement.
Now, Aviet hopes that he can sell or lease the property, according to the Mountain View Voice, but he is worried that the same historical preservation code that prevented him from developing the property will also deter potential buyers. He thinks that perhaps the next iteration of the building can thrive as a casual bistro, he told the local news outlet.
“I feel good about the future of it,” he told the Mountain View Voice.
SFGATE reached out to Chez TJ but did not hear back in time for publication.
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This article originally published at Struggling Silicon Valley fine dining restaurant has closed after 43 years.
Dining and Cooking