BJ’s Bar and Restaurant in Florissant is Closing After 70 Years. We Dropped in One Last Time.
I first set foot inside BJ’s Bar and Restaurant in the early 2000s. A few colleagues invited me along for lunch, and we went in and ordered the bar’s signature pizza. I remember being struck by the small size, the working-class atmosphere, and all the political signs plastered on the ceiling. Only later — I hadn’t grown up in North County — did I come to fully appreciate what the place meant to the area.
If you’ve ever driven through the intersection of Washington and St. Ferdinand in Florissant, you couldn’t miss it. A postage stamp-sized building pieced together with different kinds of masonry. A cramped parking lot, with working-class folks drifting toward the entrance. And that iconic Stag Beer neon sign.
BJ’s has been more than just a small dive bar. It’s a Florissant landmark.
And now it’s closing for good.
Jeanne Blanton, the current owner of BJ’s, is the daughter of Jay Russell (1928-2016), the original owner of BJ’s and a former Missouri state politician. On June 17, 2026, Jeanne took to social media to announce that, after 70 years, the bar and restaurant was shutting down after June 28, 2026. She did not give an exact reason for the closure. She did hint at some of the challenges in this sentence: “While times and the business landscape have changed significantly over the years, we are proud of the legacy we leave behind and the relationships we have built along the way.”
The announcement reverberated through the community and beyond. Hundreds of people reacted to or commented on Jeanne’s post, and we saw thousands more reactions and comments on other posts by local media who reported on the closure. Our own post on Facebook drew over a thousand reactions and well over a hundred comments.
BJ’s means something to a lot of people. Whether it was just seeing it while passing by or patronizing the place over the years, a lot of folks felt a connection to the establishment.
When we heard it was shutting down, my wife and I decided to drop back in one more time.
Our Visit
We arrived a few minutes before 11 a.m. opening on Friday, June 19, 2026. We knew BJ’s was going to be swamped with orders now that news of its closing was spreading, so we brought patience and grace with us. The parking lot was already close to full even then, and it would only get busier as the day went along.
We went inside and, after putting in our order right at 11 a.m., we found a seat. The place was already pretty busy. By the time we left an hour and a half later, it would be full.
We waited about an hour for our pizza. People who came in after us were told the wait was about an hour and a half, and I heard from people that the wait was closer to two hours later in the day. With word of the bar closing, the place was getting far more than it could normally handle. Between call-ins and walk-ins, there was a lot going on. Around 11:30 the line in front of the order counter dispersed, and a sign went up that they were not currently taking orders. Shortly after that, a worker left to get ingredients they’d run out of.
While we waited, we ordered soft drinks from the bar and settled in to watch. Patrons that day — as most days — included a fair number of blue collar workers alongside older locals. But there were others, too, including people who clearly were there because they’d heard the bar was closing.
Much of the BJ’s vibe is about the people, and just sitting and listening to the lively chatter is part of the place’s charm. We also had a close view of the small arcade in the corner of the establishment.
Of course, a hallmark of the place is the collection of political posters that cover the ceiling. In a way, you can see the whole history of Florissant — and, to an extent, the state and nation — up there. My wife is a transplant from Indiana, so I was able to tell her a few of the stories from those signs.
Just after 1 p.m., the counter called our name. We went up, paid for our pizza and drinks, then settled back into our table.
We discussed getting a specialty pizza, but went for a simple 1/2 and 1/2, with mushrooms (me) and pepperoni (my wife). BJ’s uses a St. Louis-style crust, and it’s a terrific pizza, as good as anything I’ve had in STL. My wife, who isn’t a big Provel fan, appreciated the more traditional cheeses BJ’s puts on its pizzas.
We had a great time, eating pizza and just soaking in the BJ’s vibe. There was, as I’ve said already, a lot of waiting on account of the closure announcement, but people were generally patient and understanding.
We were done eating around 12:30 p.m. We left the bar, drove out of the lot, (someone took our parking spot almost immediately), and took a walk around St. Ferdinand Shrine before checking back in on the bar around 1 p.m. The parking lot was beyond full at that point, and we can only imagine how things were going inside.
Our Thoughts
I’m glad I got to drop back into BJ’s one more time. In many ways, it’s not all that different of a place than it was when I first visited a quarter of a century ago. The pizza, the drinks, the atmosphere, even the people … this little dive bar is it’s own little time capsule.
Of course, we don’t really appreciate things until they’re gone, or we know they’re going to be gone. The love we saw for BJ’s that day was special. I think people there understood that they were in a place that was about to be no more, and I’d like to think there was a little extra liveliness to the place for it. Given what Google Maps was saying later in the day about how busy the place was, I imagine the evening crowd was something to behold.
It won’t be the same with BJ’s closing down at the end of June. I’ll look at that corner of Washington and St. Ferdinand differently. But I’m glad we got to go in and see it again before the party ended for good.
Cheers to 70 years, and Godspeed to the owner and workers as they move on to what’s next. Thanks for the memories.
