TV Restaurants

What Happened to Pips on La Brea After Mystery Diners? (Los Angeles, CA)

Closed verified

As of September 2026, Pips on La Brea has closed — confirmed via Google, September 8, 2026.

Primary source
Google ·
Secondary source
pipsonlabrea.com ·

Last verified

What the source shows: A Google Places record lists the restaurant's business status as permanently closed, and its former domain now hosts an unrelated event site as of a September 2026 check.

  • Season / episode Season 2, Episode 3
  • Original air date
  • Address 1356 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90019

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Note on this show: 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 episode "Getting a Leg Up," which aired November 2, 2012, owner Derrick of Pips on La Brea in Los Angeles, according to the episode's synopsis, had kept a former waiter on staff as a host after the employee threatened legal action, and Derrick came to suspect the employee was faking a leg injury to draw a paycheck without doing the work. Charles Stiles's investigators, including Tracy Pendergast and Shellene Reese, went undercover; Pendergast posed as a customer in visible distress to test whether the employee, identified as Bob, would break from his claimed injury to help her. The setup caught Bob failing to maintain the injury, and Derrick was advised to confront him with the footage and remove him from the payroll rather than keep accommodating the claim. Derrick fired Bob on camera. According to the episode, Pips finished a relaunch afterward and business improved. Wikipedia's article on Mystery Diners notes, citing its sources, that the show carries an on-screen disclaimer stating some events may be staged or re-enacted for dramatic purposes, and that a television critic has described its scenarios and performances as implausible. A Google Places record checked in September 2026 lists Pips on La Brea's business status as permanently closed, and its former website, pipsonlabrea.com, no longer references the restaurant, instead hosting an unrelated community festival page as of the same check.

Featured on Mystery Diners

Season / episode
Season 2, Episode 3
Original air date
Episode title
Getting a Leg Up
What was featured
Undercover diners test whether a lawsuit-threatening waiter's injury claim is fake
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Pips on La Brea

Frequently asked questions

Is Pips on La Brea still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, Pips on La Brea has closed — confirmed via Google, September 8, 2026.

What happened to Pips on La Brea after Mystery Diners?

In the Mystery Diners episode "Getting a Leg Up," which aired November 2, 2012, owner Derrick of Pips on La Brea in Los Angeles, according to the episode's synopsis, had kept a former waiter on staff as a host after the employee threatened legal action, and Derrick came to suspect the employee was faking a leg injury to draw a paycheck without doing the work. As of September 2026, Pips on La Brea has closed — confirmed via Google, September 8, 2026.

Is Pips on La Brea permanently closed?

As of September 2026, Pips on La Brea has closed — confirmed via Google, September 8, 2026. We publish a closure only with a dated source behind it, and we say plainly when it has not been independently confirmed.

Where is Pips on La Brea located?

1356 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90019. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Mystery Diners featured Pips on La Brea?

Season 2, Episode 3 of Mystery Diners, first aired November 2, 2012. The episode is titled “Getting a Leg Up”.

Every status on this site carries a confidence label and a date, and names the source it rests on. Read the Editorial & Corrections Policy for what each label means and how quickly we act on corrections. The questions above are generated from this record's own published fields — we never publish a question we cannot answer from the data.

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Visit info

Address
1356 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90019
Venue type
restaurant
Official website
pipsonlabrea.com

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

  • imdb.com — https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2494436/
  • Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_Diners
  • pipsonlabrea.com — http://www.pipsonlabrea.com/
  • Google — https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=Pips+on+La+Brea+1356+S+La+Brea+Ave+Los+Angeles+CA

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