That place was a dump. Good riddance!

Haha, I agree, it's always sad to see a local staple close up shop BUT it might be nice to have a restaurant there with edible food and a wait staff that doesn't chase you to your car screaming if you dont leave a good tip.

JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF WILMETTE RESIDENTS NOT SUPPORTING THEIR LOCAL BUSINESSES. AND IF THEY HAVE TO CHASE YOU OUT OF THE RESTAURANT FOR A TIP, WHY DIDN'T YOU LEAVE IT IN THE FIRST PLACE. TIPS ARE THEIR INCOME, DID YOU KNOW? SHAME ON YOU AND WILMETTE. I WORK IN WILMETTE AND GET STIFFED A LOT. LOOK OUT, BIG BLACK DOG, YOU'RE NEXT!

Went there twice, the owner was a total jerk and the food SUCKED!! The dump should have closed 20 years ago. Glad they are done.

People are not shy to say bad things. I was programmed to be polite even if I don't like something. It hurts my feelings that the place is closing without the blessings its own community. They sure had good music. People raved about CJ Arthur's, they did have good food, and we're nice people. I met the owner, what a nice man. :) God Love You CJ Arthur's.

Sorry for the typo. :)

I"m a musician who has performed at CJ Arthur's many times. We were always treated well by the owners and the staff, so I must disagree strongly with the negative comments posted here. Wilmette needs a place like CJ Arthur's, and they will be missed.

CJ Arthur's was a place where you could hear a wide range of good live music. They also served food and drinks. That's how I thought of them. A music place with food.

There are very few places these days where you can hear live music on a regular basis without a ticket. Readers would do me a kindness to fill me in on where I can locally go to hear jazz, blues, folk, karaoke, etc. without a ticket and grab a bite and beer with my friends while I'm at it.

Their food wasn't reviewable, but certainly edible and decent enough. There are plenty of "good food" options around if that was your goal for the evening. As for service, I mostly was content. On one or two occasions, it took a very long time.

I am sorry to hear they are closing and hope that whoever comes in their place will come with live music. Or perhaps other restaurants in town can step up to the plate. Violin, mariachi, jazz, whatever, acoustic guitar, whatever. Just give us a place to go where we can enjoy what CJ Arthurs will no longer be providing.

Sad to see this Wilmette institution close. You can meet Art and Jason in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMwJLFARRN8

Thanks for sharing the video Joe! It is always sad to see businesses close.

To Catherine Howard:

The article should have been more specific as to why they were closing, due to illness, instead of making it sound like they were just closing for who knows why. Then I'm sure there may have beens negative comments. But it still seems like a lot of people were not satisfied there.

I am incredibly sorry to hear that CJArthur's needs to close due to a family tragedy. Like it or not, it had tremendous character and will part of Wilmette lore for many years to come. God bless Art, Cindy, and Jason as well as all the loyal staff that will be displaced by this sad turn of events....

CJ Aruthurs was a fun place to go with family and friends. The
food was not bad,and they had great local bands. Why make such rude comments.
A family has to close a business and many people will lose their jobs.

I agree the rude and mean comments are soooooo unappropriate. CJ Aruthur's was/is a good family friendly resturaunt with good entertainment.
Many people are going to loose their jobs and a family is closing a family owned business in a time when jobs are hard to come by in a not so good econmey.
Think about what you say before you say such mean things and put yourself in the shoes of the people you are bad mouthing and think about how you would feel to have someone say things like that to you.
CJ's will be missed!

I have gone to CJ Arthur's for years now. They had decent Food at an affordable price, friendly staff and live music on a regular basis. It was a casual atmosphere, family friendly and always welcoming. I will miss the music, the food and the staff. I also took a look at the work that needed to be done on the premises a year ago. It was more than cosmetic, there are major problems with the building, structural, plumbing, sewer, etc, etc., and it appears that the owners of the property were unwilling to address any of these issues and then went for an increase in rent. The Village of Wilmette needs to go in and do a thorough inspection after the close and require the owners to make the repairs that they have refused to do or deny any permits and/or licenses for the premises in the future.

The food was horrible and the service was worse. There have been countless times where I would drive to the bank see the staff getting high in the back, no wonder the service was so bad. I stopped allowing my children to go there once I heard about Jasons preferred taste in younger girls....I shouldn't have to worry about a man in his thirties flirting with my 15 year old daughter at this so called "family" establishment. I'm glad its leaving, hopefully we can get a quality establishment now.

COMMENTARY 2 M'S

What?! I cannot BELIEVE that somebody wrote on here that Jason has a "thing" for young girls! That is completely false! How could you even be so sick as to even post that online when u obviously don't know him at ALL! That is just terrible and SO completely false! How dare you? U r a terrible person (obviously). I am GLAD that you do not frequent CJ Arthur's. Knowing that ignorant liars like you hate that place just make me more proud to be a CJ's patron.

Actually, Jason was not the "J" in CJ Arthurs. Jason was still in diapers, then. The original partner was Cindy's brother, Jeff. When Jeff left, I feel the food quality went down. But that is just my opinion.

Anyone who says Cindy and Art are bad people have either not met them, or have their heads up their rear's. They both loved the business and their customers and did NOT treat customers rudely or poorly.

Godspeed Art & Cindy. We will miss you guys.

Joan's daughter had a crush on Jason. Jason did not return the attention. The daughter, a typical teenage girl, decided to get even, while also covering her tracks by lying about an older boyfriend. Joan is in total denial about her daughter.

If you were BORN and RAISED in Wilmette you would be sad to see C.J. Arthur's close. It was a good place to get a drink and some food without any fuss. I will be sad to see them go. Maybe if these greedy landlords would take care of their properties the tenants would have more money and time to spend on their businesses i.e. staff, food, management. Shame on the people who left rude comments here. You have no class, clearly you have not lived here long.

In this comments thread:

CJ Arthur's Employees or People Who Know CJ's Employees
CJ Arthur's Regulars who must justify the large quantity of time they spent there by shooting down any and all criticism
People who went to CJ's on an extremely busy night and expected the best service
People who can't appreciate casual restaurants.
People who thought it was ok or something.

I cannot believe the horrible things that people have to say about total strangers! Get a life!

CJ Arthurs was more than just a restaurant. It was a place to meet friends and make friends. The theme song from Cheers comes to mind when I think of CJ's. They will be missed................................

I grew up in Wilmette, and CJ Arthur's was always our go-to for breakfast or lunch after softball games, soccer practice or sleepovers. It was a family place where you'd always run into friends from school or neighbors. It was also one of the places my friends and I were allowed to go on our own, and we felt so grown up dining there by ourselves as kids. It was so easy to walk there after school from Central or bike there from our East Wilmette homes. It's a memorable part of my childhood, and though the quality and service certainly went down in recent years, I'm terribly sad to see a longstanding Wilmette business close. I'm disappointed with this article, as it doesn't provide any valuable information and it doesn't seem the reporter has any background knowledge of the restaurant. I would never classify it as a "bar" or live music venue rather than a family restaurant, and the line "It’s set up for a restaurant, plus, Wilmette needs another restaurant" implies it wasn't a restaurant at all. It also seems like a low-blow to include a quote about how the community needs a new restaurant in an article about a restaurant closing. And no quotes or information from the actual restaurant owners? No insight into why it closed after 23 years? You don't even include the co-owners last name, which is Reporting 101. As a journalist and a Wilmette native, I can firmly say this is poor reporting and it's extremely disappointing.

This place was a treasure to the community. It was the only place that was truly alive each night, with all the live music they shared. This family was a real blessing to this community and all who live here. It was the best.