TV Restaurants

What Happened to Looney's BBQ After Mystery Diners? (San Leandro, CA)

Mystery Diners, Season 5 San Leandro, California

Current status

Closed

As of October 2026, Looney's BBQ has closed — confirmed via Yelp, February 2026.

What the source shows: Google Places marks Looney's Southern BBQ as permanently closed at its Washington Avenue address, and a Yelp listing updated February 2026 still shows it closed. 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?

Mystery Diners' Jan. 13, 2014 episode "Fired Up" (Season 5, Episode 2) featured Looney's BBQ in San Leandro, California. According to an episode overview on TheTVDB, the owner asked Charles Stiles to investigate after hearing that staff were pranking customers; the sources reviewed for this entry did not include a full recap of the on-air investigation's findings. Looney's Southern BBQ, which according to San Leandro Next took over the former Smiling Jack gas station site on Washington Avenue, later closed: Google Places lists the business as permanently closed at that address, and a Yelp listing updated February 2026 still shows it as closed.

A November 2013 post on Marga's Food Blog describes the restaurant's applewood-smoked meats and homemade sides while it was operating, and a 2011 announcement on Patch.com described the restaurant opening at that same Washington Avenue address. Wikipedia's article on the series, citing its sources, notes that the show carries a credits disclaimer stating that events may be re-enacted for dramatic purposes, and cites a television critic who described the show's scenarios as implausible and its resolutions as staged. No current website for Looney's BBQ under that name was found during this check; a legacy WordPress blog for the business remains online but shows no recent updates.

The episode Mystery Diners, Season 5

Episode 2
Aired
Title: Fired Up · What was featured: Staff allegedly playing pranks on customers
How Mystery Diners restaurants have fared: 55% closed →

Also in Season 5 Mystery Diners

Season 5: 4 of 13 still open · 1 renamed, moved or under new owners

All 13 Season 5 episodes →

Nearest open restaurants By distance from 14680 Washington Ave

All 892 TV restaurants in California →

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 6 references

  1. Yelp https://www.yelp.com/biz/looneys-southern-bbq-san-leandro
  2. sanleandronext.com https://www.sanleandronext.com/new-restaurant-round-up/
  3. marga.org https://www.marga.org/foodblog/2013/11/looneys-southern-bbq-san-leandro-restaurant-review/
  4. patch.com https://patch.com/california/sanleandro/sprouts-shutters-looney-s-southern-bar-b-que-coming-soon
  5. TheTVDB https://thetvdb.com/series/mystery-diners/allseasons/official
  6. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_Diners
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Record md-049 · checked by Cal Marchetti.