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About CJ’s

Welcome to Cj’s Deli & Diner in Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii

No matter what our individual tastes, when it comes to eating on Maui, we all want the same thing: Delicious food at reasonable prices. Finding an affordable restaurant in West Maui isn’t easy, but CJ’s Deli & Diner in Kaanapali offers a Comfort Zone from tourist restaurant prices!

You’ll find our Maui restaurant conveniently located in The Fairway Shops at Kaanapali. CJ’s is Maui’s neighborhood family deli and diner. The restaurant features “comfort foods” that are homemade and simply delicious! Chef CJ’s menu will make you feel good inside! The menu includes traditional comfort foods like meatloaf, ribs, deli sandwiches and also local favorites like coconut prawns, mahi mahi and freshly baked pastries, pies, cakes and desserts. With our wide array of reasonably priced menu items there is always something for everyone. Families are welcome and we offer a kids menu too!

You can enter the comfort zone of CJ’s during their daily business hours of 7:00 am to 8:00 pm for dining in or take-out service. CJ’s Deli & Diner serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The restaurant offers fresh bakery items and full commercial baking services.

The owner has extensive background in the restaurant business. At age 12, Christian Jorgensen (Chef CJ) fell in love with the business through his grandparents’ restaurant in his native country of Denmark. It became his dream to own his own one day. Over the next 20 years he worked hard to perfect his ability to open and run a successful restaurant. After graduating as a chef with top honors from The Hotel and Restaurant School in Copenhagen, Christian began a career that has spanned the globe. He has worked in restaurants and hotels in Denmark, Switzerland, Chicago, Guam, Macau (China), and Maui, sharpening his skills as a chef and manager. With each move, he took on greater responsibility, eventually becoming the Executive Chef at Maui’s Westin hotel. There he planned and oversaw the opening of the popular Tropica restaurant in the heart of the Kaanapali beach resort. Now Christian is living his dream by serving Maui’s residents and visitors in his own restaurant.

Chef Christian’s wife Marilyn is the co-owner and manager of the restaurant. You’ll often meet Marilyn cashiering at CJ’s and serving as matre’de at catered events on Maui. Marilyn’s a graduate of Penn State with a degree in restaurant management and extensive experience as a food and beverage manager with the Hyatt Hotel corporation prior to opening CJ’s restaurant with Christian. The hard working couple met in Chicago while Marilyn was Food & Beverage manager and Christian as a chef at the at the Hyatt in Chicago. After marrying the couple combined their love of travel with culinary professions working in resorts and resturants in Guam and Macau (China) before settling in Maui.

Chef Christian and Marilyn are raising their family here with two vegetarian teenage daughters, own their west side home and have strong ties to the Maui community. As a family man, chef CJ noticed a need on West Maui for a restaurant offering moderately-priced comfort foods, a warm and comfortable atmosphere, express service with a smile, and an accessible location. For today’s busy families, eating away from home is no longer a luxury, it is a necessary part of their lifestyle. With the comforts this Maui restaurant offers and its convenient location along the Honoapiilani Highway in Kaanapali, CJ’s Deli & Diner is ready to be part of your lifestyle. ENTER THE COMFORT ZONE TODAY!

European Trained Chef on Maui

Chef Christian is a Master Chef with formal European training. Chef Jorgensen completed his apprenticeship to become a Master chef at Interlaken, Switzerland. After working internationally Chef CJ relocated to Maui to become the executive corporate chef for Westin hotels at Kaanapali resort restaurants. In 2002, the chef started his Maui restaurant, CJ’s Deli & Diner, to provide ‘comfort for your stomach with comfort for your wallet’. If you’re tired of paying typical high prices at the resort restaurants, stop by CJ’s Deli & Diner in the Fairway Shops in Kaanapali Beach Resort. Or, enjoy a Private Chef Dinner personally prepared for you and your family. Request an Estimate NOW:

Looking for Chef Christian Jorgensen?

Learn what inspires the owner of CJ’s Deli & Diner and what find out all there is to know in our Meet the Maui Chef section!

Request a Catering Estimate


Maui Chef Christian in a cooking demonstration in Kaanapali.
Maui Chef Christian Jorgensen presents a cooking demonstration oat the Kaanapali Fresh Festival lunch at the Coffee Farm Estates.

CJ’s Kaanapali Diner Review

My daughter and I visited Maui a couple of weeks ago and came to your restaurant 3 times. I just wanted to thank you for your willingness to meet our gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free requirements. We loved being able to eat out safely and wish we had a CJ’s at home! I just wrote you a stellar review on Trip Advisor. Hope you have a wonderful rest of the summer!

Kelley MacCabe
CJ’s Maui Restaurant Review

Wonderful for a Sunday Brunch since you can order breakfast until 11:00am! Had a ‘custom’ 3 ingredient omelette (I chose mushrooms, feta and spinach) with nicely crunchy on the outside and soft inside home potatoes, yummy. Hubby had the pancakes with fresh fruit! These are light fluffy slightly sweet batter pancakes, not those heavy bland ones (OK I admit it, I had to have a few bites of his breakfast…) Service was fast and friendly :0). The menu is EXTENSIVE, we live here and love it!

Kathy, Lahaina, Maui
CJ’s Deli and Diner Maui Restaurant Review

Fact: CJ’s Maui onion soup will melt your face off it’s so good. Best I’ve ever had. It gets 20 stars.
Alas, it’s not on the menu every day… But when my fiancee and I went this past summer and were lucky to meet Chef CJ in person and mentioned that we had been thinking about the onion soup since the last time we visited two years earlier, he was kind enough to put it on the next day’s menu. We went back the following day and ordered it, and it was amazing, just as we had remembered. Another fact: the onion soup at CJ’s is better than the onion soup at Mama’s Fish House (and at like 1/4th of the price). Really. It’s that good. Part of me wants to reverse engineer CJ’s onion soup recipe, quit my job, and make millions selling onion soup to the mainland masses! (or: CJ, wanna make a deal?)
I think that the loco moco gravy is made from the same goodness. So that’s great too. The potato salad is tasty as well.
The to-go lunch plate is respectable.

Jonny S, San Diego, CA
Maui Chef CJ Prepares Mushroom Soup for Kaanapali Restaurant Guest

On a previous visit to Maui, I had the most delicious mushroom soup at CJ’s Deli and Diner in Kaanapali. When I arrived in Maui this week, I emailed the restaurant and asked what day they might have the soup. The owner and chef, Christian Jorgensen (CJ), promptly replied even though he was on vacation in Vegas. He gave me a number to call to check on the soup of the day. Then when he returned to Maui on Friday, he emailed me to let me know he would have the soup for me on Saturday. When I got there, he was so friendly and the soup was even more scrumptious than I had remembered. I really appreciated how valued he made me feel as a customer.

Linda D.
CJs Maui Restaurant Customer

Good Morning, My wife and I spent last week in Maui. Your early bird special was the best. After we found you, we ate breakfast there every morning. You had two regular coffees that we just loved.

James T Wilson Jr
Maui Restaurant Customer

The best burger I ever had! Great Service! Fantastic Food!! Simply Awesome.

Pat Janostin, Champlin MN
Kaanapali Restaurant Customer Comment

Thanks for all the Good Food. Best we have ad since we hit the island 5 days ago!

Jeff and Myra V., Ontario, Ohio

CJ’s Maui Restaurant Customer Comments on CJ’s Private Luau in her Blog

Aloha, Just wanted to let you know that this post was up last Friday and it will be included (linked) with all of our Hawaii properties. Thank you both for excellent service. You made our trip to Maui very memorable! Feel free to comment on the post. It’s always good to have additional information and your input.

https://www.ciaobambino.com/ciaobambinoblog/index.php/2010/01/photo-friday-special-activities-in-maui/

Nancy Solomon, Travel Writer
CJ’s Maui Restaurant Customer Comment

Aloha, We were in to see you many times during our stay last month in Ka’anapali, couple of things for you:
Need to order some more of your CJ’s roasted Kona Coffee. I see it’s not yet on your website, only the Maui Coffee Co. stuff. We ran out last weekend and are having withdrawls, please help!! Need 2 bags urgently!!
Secondly, your claim about having the best corned beef hash on the island. I think you’ve understated this because it’s the best I’ve had any where in the world! And that covers a lot of ground as I’ve been to every continent multiple times. Just the best anywhere, period!! Don’t suppose you would have that for delivery to Indiana would you? Maybe by the pound(s)?
Great people and even better food, Mahalo CJ’s. Seriously though, please let me know about that coffee. How do we get some ordered and shipped to Indiana?

Bill Clark, Valparaiso, In.
CJ’s Maui Restaurant Customer Comment

​CJ’s Deli & Diner Rocks! Been here several times while visiting Maui – each time we tried different meals and each time we LOVED the food, service and atmosphere. Only suggestion would be to provide regular dinner napkins along with this paper type – because we’re messy!

Aloha and Mahalo from Detroit