TV Restaurants

Who Runs CJ's Pub & Grill Now? Bar Rescue Update (Smithton, IL)

New owners reported

As of September 2026, Yelp reports CJ's Pub & Grill changed ownership; reviewed by our team, not yet independently confirmed.

Primary source
Yelp ·
Secondary source
barrescueupdates.com ·

Last verified

What the source shows: A Yelp listing updated in September 2026 marks CJ's Pub and Grill permanently closed, and a Bar Rescue tracker site's account of a September 2024 sale to new owners provides a consistent secondary signal that the location now operates under a different name.

  • Season / episode Season 9, Episode 33
  • Original air date
  • Address 102 N Main St, Smithton, IL 62285
  • Current name The Roost Bar & Grill

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What happened after Bar Rescue?

CJ's Pub & Grill (also written CJ's Pub and Grill), at 102 N Main St in Smithton, Illinois, appeared in Bar Rescue's ninth season episode "On the 3:10 to Failure," which aired May 4, 2025 on Paramount Network. According to Bar Rescue Updates' coverage of the episode, filming took place in late June 2024, and owners Christy and Jeremy operated the bar going into the visit. The site reports that Jon Taffer initially renamed the bar "Smithton Station Classic Kitchen & Cocktails" during the on-camera relaunch, but that the business reverted to the CJ's Pub name before the episode aired.

The relaunch was short-lived. According to Bar Rescue Updates and a related Reality TV Updates account, CJ's Pub and Grill closed in September 2024 -- about two months after the Bar Rescue renovation -- when Christy and Jeremy sold the business to new owners, with the sale taking effect September 15, 2024. Both accounts describe the buyers as having since reopened the location under a different name, The Roost Bar & Grill.

Consistent with that account, a Google Places listing for 102 N Main St shows the business status as permanently closed under the CJ's Pub and Grill name, and a Yelp listing for the same address -- headed "CJ'S PUB AND GRILL - CLOSED" and updated in September 2026 -- likewise marks the location as no longer operating under that name. The Facebook page associated with CJ's Pub and Grill remained reachable during this review but returned only page-framework content rather than a clear operating status.

Taken together, the dated Yelp closure listing and the Bar Rescue Updates account of the September 2024 sale indicate that CJ's Pub and Grill, as featured on Bar Rescue, is no longer operating under that name at 102 N Main St, with the address reported to now house The Roost Bar & Grill under different ownership. No official statement from the original or current owners was found to confirm these details firsthand.

Featured on Bar Rescue

Season / episode
Season 9, Episode 33
Original air date
Episode title
On the 3:10 to Failure
What was featured
small-town pub relaunched on air, then sold two months later
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
CJ's Pub & Grill

Frequently asked questions

Is CJ's Pub & Grill still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, Yelp reports CJ's Pub & Grill changed ownership; reviewed by our team, not yet independently confirmed.

What happened to CJ's Pub & Grill after Bar Rescue?

CJ's Pub & Grill (also written CJ's Pub and Grill), at 102 N Main St in Smithton, Illinois, appeared in Bar Rescue's ninth season episode "On the 3:10 to Failure," which aired May 4, 2025 on Paramount Network. As of September 2026, Yelp reports CJ's Pub & Grill changed ownership; reviewed by our team, not yet independently confirmed.

What is CJ's Pub & Grill called now?

Now: The Roost Bar & Grill (formerly CJ's Pub & Grill). As of September 2026, Yelp reports CJ's Pub & Grill changed ownership; reviewed by our team, not yet independently confirmed.

Where is CJ's Pub & Grill located?

102 N Main St, Smithton, IL 62285. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Bar Rescue featured CJ's Pub & Grill?

Season 9, Episode 33 of Bar Rescue, first aired May 4, 2025. The episode is titled “On the 3:10 to Failure”.

Who owns CJ's Pub & Grill now?

As of September 2026, Yelp reports CJ's Pub & Grill changed ownership; reviewed by our team, not yet independently confirmed. We name individual owners only where a source we cite names them.

Did the makeover last at CJ's Pub & Grill?

The episode first aired May 4, 2025. Our most recent check was September 7, 2026 — 1 year later —: As of September 2026, Yelp reports CJ's Pub & Grill changed ownership; reviewed by our team, not yet independently confirmed.

What do reviews say since Bar Rescue?

The Facebook page associated with CJ's Pub and Grill remained reachable during this review but returned only page-framework content rather than a clear operating status. We summarise what dated sources report; we do not publish our own rating.

Every status on this site carries a confidence label and a date, and names the source it rests on. Read the Editorial & Corrections Policy for what each label means and how quickly we act on corrections. The questions above are generated from this record's own published fields — we never publish a question we cannot answer from the data.

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Visit info

Address
102 N Main St, Smithton, IL 62285
Venue type
bar
Official website
Facebook

Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources

  • Yelp — https://www.yelp.com/biz/cj-s-pub-and-grill-smithton
  • barrescueupdates.com — https://www.barrescueupdates.com/2025/05/smithton-station-cjs-pub-bar-rescue.html
  • realitytvupdates.com — https://realitytvupdates.com/bar-rescue/smithton-station-cjs-pub/

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Record br-264 · last verified .