restaurantMystery Diners · Season 4, Episode 5 · Aired August 14, 2013
Gauchos Village
Glendale, California
This one survived. It remains in business.
What happened after
Brazilian steakhouse (rodizio) at 135 N Artsakh Ave; a review dated '1 day ago' at time of search plus current OpenTable listing found.
What happened on the show
Kevin Aksacki came back from a near-fatal paragliding accident to find his Glendale Brazilian steakhouse leaking revenue and inventory, and he suspected the general manager who had run things in his absence. Charles Stiles sent mystery diners Grant and Amber in as a waiter and a customer. As aired, manager Miguel badmouths the recovering owner to the staff, lets customers walk off with leftovers against churrascaria custom, sells meat cheaply on the side for cash, and uses the restaurant's meat and liquor to throw a cookout at his own house. The confrontation has Kevin rejecting Miguel's claim that the party was a welcome-back surprise and firing him. Because Mystery Diners was later accused of scripting these reveals, this while-the-owner-was-away sting is best framed as broadcast rather than as confirmed fact.
After the cameras left
Gauchos Village is still carving, none the worse for the episode. The rodizio-style Brazilian steakhouse at 135 North Artsakh Avenue shows a very recent review and a current OpenTable listing in our 2026 pass. It is another established operation that appeared on a crisis show and kept right on serving, its survival a matter of a going concern rather than a rescue. The manager drama the cameras filmed made television; it never dictated whether the steakhouse would last.
Sources
Confidence: high. Last checked 2026-07-19.
What is there now
Street imagery via Google Maps. Location approximate.