Mystery Diners · S5 E2
Looney's BBQ
San Leandro, California
Its status today is unclear. The last confirmed sighting we found dates to 2014.
The short answer
No closure or open confirmation found; only stale directory listings (Yellow Pages/Superpages/localsearch) with no dated activity.
What happened on the show
Ken Looney asked Charles Stiles to look into pranks with Devil's XXX, the hottest sauce at his San Leandro barbecue joint, and into why he kept losing staff. Stiles sent mystery diners Brianna, Kiel and William in as customers and a waiter. As aired, one new waiter and, more surprisingly, the general manager are behind it: the manager has been hazing the crew by forcing whoever posts the lowest weekly sales to eat the XXX sauce, which explains the turnover, while a waiter loosens sauce lids and spikes to-go orders. The confrontation has Ken firing the waiter and warning the manager that the pranks could sink the place. Because Mystery Diners was later accused of scripting its confrontations, this hot-sauce sting is best framed as broadcast rather than as documented event.
After the cameras left
After the cameras, the record on Looney's simply runs out. We could not confirm a current open or closed status for the San Leandro barbecue spot at 14680 Washington Avenue in our 2026 pass, finding only stale, undated directory listings, so we hold it at last confirmed rather than guess. Mystery Diners filmed a hazing sting and left; it promised no turnaround, and whatever became of this small independent, it left too faint a trail to call either way with any honesty.
Location
14680 Washington Ave, San Leandro CA 94578
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Sources
Last checked 2026-07-19.