Ep 1. Mexicali Blues

In the first episode of season 6 of Mystery Diners, titled "Mexicali Blues," the team is called in to investigate a Mexican restaurant in New Mexico. The restaurant, Mexicali Blues, is owned by husband and wife team Miguel and Marissa. They have noticed a significant decline in profits and suspect that something fishy is happening behind their backs.

Charles Stiles and his team of mystery diners set up hidden cameras throughout the restaurant to observe the staff and customers. The first thing the team notices is that the staff seems to be giving away free food and drinks to certain customers. This is an obvious red flag as it causes the restaurant to lose money and can potentially lead to unhappy paying customers.

The team sets up a sting operation where they send in an actor posing as a customer who is known to give bad online reviews. The actor is quickly targeted by the staff, who offer her free food and drinks. She is even given a discount coupon for her next visit.

As the investigation continues, the team discovers that the restaurant's head chef, Rodolfo, is behind the freebies. He has been giving away food and drinks to impress certain customers and gain positive reviews online. However, this has caused the restaurant to lose money and has angered some of the regular paying customers who feel they are being treated unfairly.

The team brings in Marissa and Miguel to confront Rodolfo. They are shocked to discover what has been happening and immediately take action to address the problem. Rodolfo is given a warning and offered the opportunity to redeem himself by coming up with a plan to increase profits without giving away freebies.

In the end, Mexicali Blues is back on track and doing well. The mystery diners have once again helped a struggling restaurant to overcome its problems.