TV Restaurants

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

Closed verified

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

Primary source
Yelp ·
Secondary source
Google ·

Last verified

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.

  • Season / episode Season 5, Episode 2
  • Original air date
  • Address 14680 Washington Ave, San Leandro, CA 94578

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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?

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 review; a legacy WordPress blog for the business remains online but shows no recent updates.

Featured on Mystery Diners

Season / episode
Season 5, Episode 2
Original air date
Episode title
Fired Up
What was featured
Staff allegedly playing pranks on customers
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Looney's BBQ

Frequently asked questions

Is Looney's BBQ still open in 2026?

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

What happened to Looney's BBQ after Mystery Diners?

Mystery Diners' Jan. 13, 2014 episode "Fired Up" (Season 5, Episode 2) featured Looney's BBQ in San Leandro, California. As of September 2026, Looney's BBQ has closed — confirmed via Yelp, February 2026.

Is Looney's BBQ permanently closed?

As of September 2026, Looney's BBQ has closed — confirmed via Yelp, February 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 Looney's BBQ located?

14680 Washington Ave, San Leandro, CA 94578. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Mystery Diners featured Looney's BBQ?

Season 5, Episode 2 of Mystery Diners, first aired January 13, 2014. The episode is titled “Fired Up”.

What do reviews say since Mystery Diners?

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. We summarise what dated sources report; we do not publish our own rating.

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
14680 Washington Ave, San Leandro, CA 94578
Venue type
restaurant
Official website
None found

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

  • Yelp — https://www.yelp.com/biz/looneys-southern-bbq-san-leandro
  • sanleandronext.com — https://www.sanleandronext.com/new-restaurant-round-up/
  • marga.org — https://www.marga.org/foodblog/2013/11/looneys-southern-bbq-san-leandro-restaurant-review/
  • patch.com — https://patch.com/california/sanleandro/sprouts-shutters-looney-s-southern-bar-b-que-coming-soon
  • thetvdb.com — https://thetvdb.com/series/mystery-diners/allseasons/official
  • Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_Diners

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