Javier has turned this place into a first class bar/restaurant. City Market has never been the same since Javier has introduced an outstanding Mexican Menu during The City Market venue. During the day from 11: 00 A.M. to 3: 00 P.M. this is the place to go and have lunch. A first class menu, great prices, great food and they are not stingy with the portions. On Friday they have the best Fish Fry and Fried Shrimp dinner that any of the social clubs in town can't even come close to as far as price, quality and size of the portions. Come on in and have Erica show you what a first class act she is and all of the rest of the beautiful bartenders that wait on folks at CJ's. Don't mind the skinny Old Troll that runs the place. He is the only detriment about CJ'S. Otherwise, I highly recommend a visit to CJ's Public House. Very friendly, inclusive and low key. read more

Cj's Public House - Maurice Gianesin - A man with gray hair, glasses, and a beard is taking a selfie indoors, sitting on a black chair with a plain wall background. - Lounges Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

Forget this place. My friend and I watched an older male bartender serve every single person around us except for us. We patiently waited as maybe we thought he didn't see us. We were trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, but after waiting almost 30 minutes and continuously watching him ignore us as we had our money out, we grew frustrated and walked around to the other side of the bar. We still continued to get ignored, so we asked this very sweet young girl to get us a drink while we gave her our cash. Shocker.... the same older male bartender (that ignored us) served her right away. Imagine that? My friend and I have no idea why we were ignored. It left us very confused. But I can attest to this, that will be my last time ever going to CJ's. My family has owned a restaurant in Rockford for over 30 years, and I've never experienced such rude service at an establishment before. read more

A classic Rockford dive. Cash only establishment. Great service, slots, and darts, shuffleboard, and billiards tables in the back. Lively environment with good music. read more

Visit this establishment for your dive bar pub crawl. Otherwise avoid it like the plague unless your a hipster & think that empty bars that smell like nursing homes are cool. When we walked in there were two girls dancing to blurred lines on a stage by the window actually flashing their T&A. So, consider it good for a laugh & or for amateur strippers as well possibly. I see no reason that I would ever return but I will never forget the free show. read more

See all

This is a small town bar that serves a bustling community. The beer is relatively cheap, though the selection is limited. There are a lot of craft breweries in the area, but this bar is more s bud light crowd. Fun, cheap, but not very deep. read more

Cj's Public House - The site outside. - Lounges Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

I visited CJ's one afternoon for lunch with a friend of mine. We sat down at the bar and stared in marvel at the awesome dive-barness that is CJ's. Do you love old movies? Are you big into 50's actors? You'll love the décor in here. The walls are adorned with pictures of old actors and movie head shots. I don't know if they did this intentionally, or they just have never updated the décor... neither would surprise me. The fact that when we were there they had TVs on, but they were so old they were distorted and had a funky coloring to them that made it hard to watch means I won't be there to watch any games. The place... smelled... of what I can only describe as mold, stale beer, old cigarettes and the tears of patrons lamenting past decisions that left them sitting here alone. Okay, that was kind of mean, but there were a handful of people there alone when we went sitting at the bar starring into the beers. The food was okay, it was standard bar food. I had a burger and fries. It was, to quote Yelp, Meh. Nothing special about it, a little greasy for my liking, not a whole lot of flavor. It basically served its main purpose of providing nourishment. The fries were standard as well. Nothing really to write about there. The beer was okay, but I don't know if the lines needed cleaning or if they needed to wash the glassware better, because it had a funky taste to it. Overall, yes I would go back... but only because I do love a good dive bar. If that's not your seen, you're looking for fine dining or a great atmosphere; this is not your place. read more

This place absolutely slaps. I roll in here with a wad of cash (it's cash-only) and feel like a big baller. They got all the games you could possibly need to slay with your squad as well as a competitive client base that will constantly put the screws to you. Don't get comfortable, especially on Blackout Wednesday, because this place pops. If you are fixing to get so dangerous that they gotta call in the National Guard, then this is the spot for you. read more

Nice place inside, but not very inviting or a atmosphere multicultural. Very limited choice of drinks as well

I had a lot of fun here! They have pool, darts, shuffle board, gambling, and pinball. The drinks aren't anything special, just your average bar selections, but theyre very reasonably priced! Protip: cash only. read more

Use to drink here all the time in my 20's when the bathroom reeked of piss and you could do bumps in the room next door, it was a great place and I'm sure it still is read more

Freaky crowd, lots of heavy drinking, but that's OK with me. If you like great original music and a friendly environment, check this place out. read more

Some would say this is a dive bar - and honestly, if it is, that's ok! I LOVE CJ's. It's got just about every aspect of a bar, without the typical jerks. There's pool, video gambling, darts, live music, karaoke, juke box, friendly faces & open atmosphere. You never feel like you're being crowded in CJ's. Great place to chill and hang with your friends. The owner is so friendly - will remember your face and welcome you when you come in. Family owned & friendly, I'd definitely recommend if you're looking for something away from the average bar that's too loud and crammed with people. It's a must! read more

Honestly for a dive bar this place ain't bad. Drinks are priced nicely and staff is awesome. Doesn't look like much but definitely decent spot for a drink and food is typical bar food and mediocre. read more

A typical bar--not a lot about which to write home, but has live music from interesting bands on occasion. The few tap beers were priced cheaply and the bottled-beer selection could use some better choices IMHO (but I have seen worse selections elsewhere). Has three "rooms" for drinking and a jukebox for music when bands are not playing. read more

SOME of the best times of my life have been had here. Too bad I can't remember any of them. ;P Except maybe remembering random details about someone and having her think i'm psychic when i happily accost her in the bathroom to tell her things about herself. That seems to be my sole actual MEMORY here hahahahahahahaha ...at least I'm PRETTY sure it happened there--aren't you glad I'm so good at reviewing things? oh hey it's the sincerity that counts ;P read more

I live in the area, come here a lot.... and I'm also a bartender. I've never met someone with so much hospitality as Nikki shows to me every time I'm there. She is beautiful, personable, and fun. If I ever opened up a business, she'd be the face of it. read more

I've had a lot of fun at this bar in the past, but lately it has let me down. The beer on tap tastes awful and ever since smoking has been banned inside bars in Illinois the place only smells of urine. Every now and then there is a good showing of bands on a Saturday night but that is usually not enough to get me excited about going to CJ's. It used to be the place to hang out a few years ago but now it is just the place I might end up if I've had one to many. read more

A cool Rockford bar where you can watch the Blackhawks or Ice Hogs on television if you don't want to go to the arena down the street. This is a old downtown building offering a realistic dive bar experience something that the cruddy exoburb s of Chicagoland can never offer. They have a pool table and a pinball machine next to many slots in this unique bar with a carry out food ordering up to the kitchen. A cool place to get drunk and fat read more

In Rockford for the night and came by CJ's since it was only bar we could find with live music. Bands were entry level and drinks selection sparce. No name brand vodka! But, drinks were cheap and staff great! Very friendly. read more

Went in and was ignored for 20 minutes by the bar staff before they paid any attention to me. Both the staff and the patrons were rude. Tiny stage with crappy sound. If I were in a band, I wouldn't play here, even if they paid well. Whole place smells like a truck stop bathroom. If I were you, I'd steer clear and find somewhere else downtown Rockford to grab a beer and see a show. read more