TV Restaurants

What Happened to Buttons Restaurant After Mystery Diners? (Addison, TX)

Mystery Diners, Season 3 Addison, Texas

Current status

Closed

As of October 2026, Buttons Restaurant has closed — confirmed via Yelp, September 2026.

What the source shows: A Yelp listing for Buttons Restaurant's Addison Road address remains titled 'BUTTONS RESTAURANT - CLOSED' (an August 2026 refresh of the same listing was also seen), consistently marking the soul-food restaurant and music venue permanently closed; no reopening or new-ownership signal found. How we decide a status →

About this show's format: Described as staged/scripted by Wikipedia's article, citing a 2012 realityblurred.com report. Surface this note on every record.

What happened after Mystery Diners?

In the Mystery Diners (Food Network) episode covering Buttons Restaurant in the Dallas area -- listed by Apple TV as "An Officer and a Gentleman" and by other episode guides as "Armed Services" (season 3, episode 12; aired July 3, 2013) -- owner and chef Keith Hicks called in the crew after fielding complaints about his manager, a former service member. Undercover investigators found the manager had made an ROTC-trainee employee run laps around the restaurant as punishment for mistakes and had driven at least one server to quit. When confronted, the manager said he was only trying to keep the staff in line.

Hicks, also a military veteran, chose not to fire the manager but asked him to ease up on his approach. Wikipedia's article on Mystery Diners, citing its sources, notes that the program carries a disclaimer stating its events may be staged or re-enacted for dramatic effect, and describes a television critic's view that some of its scenarios read as implausible. According to a Yelp listing for Buttons Restaurant at 15207 Addison Rd in Addison, Texas, updated in September 2026, the soul-food restaurant and music venue is marked permanently closed. Food Network's own restaurant directory and a 2013 Dallas-area blog post both placed the business at the same Addison Road address shown in the episode.

The episode Mystery Diners, Season 3

Episode 12
Aired
Title: An Officer and a Gentleman · What was featured: strict ex-military manager accused of humiliating and driving off staff
How Mystery Diners restaurants have fared: 55% closed →

Also in Season 3 Mystery Diners

Season 3: 6 of 13 still open · 1 renamed, moved or under new owners

All 13 Season 3 episodes →

Nearest open restaurants By distance from 15207 Addison Rd

All 304 TV restaurants in Texas →

Before you go: 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 we checked 4 references

  1. Yelp https://www.yelp.com/biz/buttons-restaurant-addison-2
  2. foodnetwork.com https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/mystery-diners/episodes/armed-services
  3. foodnetwork.com https://www.foodnetwork.com/restaurants/tx/addison/buttons-restaurant-restaurant
  4. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_Diners
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Record md-033 · checked by Cal Marchetti.