barMystery Diners · Season 4, Episode 8 · Aired September 4, 2013
Cheesie's Pub and Grub
Chicago, Illinois
Good outcome here: the business is still trading today.
What happened after
Grilled-cheese/bar concept; the original/flagship Lakeview location (958 W Belmont Ave, opened 2010) remains open per official site and Yelp, while a separate Wrigleyville location (3472 N Clark St) has since closed and a Garfield Ridge location has opened.
What happened on the show
Chris Johnston suspected his Chicago grilled-cheese pub's eating contest had been fixed: nine winners in two months, most of them petite women, and free-drink prizes that were denting his alcohol sales. Charles Stiles sent mystery diners David and Destiney in as contest entrants. As aired, a manager, a cashier and the owner's best friend had been playing the contest straight for male strangers but rigging it for friends and attractive women, then pouring undeserved free drinks for the winners' companions and taking money on the side for all-you-can-eat. The confrontation has Chris firing his own friend and the cashier, the friend fuming that he lost a job over a sandwich contest. Given the scripting claims that later dogged Mystery Diners, this contest sting is best read as broadcast rather than as confirmed.
After the cameras left
Cheesie's is still melting cheese, at least at the location that matters. The flagship Lakeview room at 958 West Belmont Avenue, the brand's founding spot from 2010, remains open per its own site and Yelp in our 2026 check, even as a separate Wrigleyville location has since closed. We treat the still-open original as the show-era room, at medium confidence. A going grilled-cheese brand kept going, no rescue required, which is the ordinary story behind the survivors here.
Sources
Confidence: medium. Last checked 2026-07-19.