Texas Roadhouse breaks silence after a viral post accused staff of spitting in Black diners’ food, then reveals what it found

Texas Roadhouse has responded to viral social media posts accusing its staff of tampering with the food of Black customers, calling the claims unfounded. As detailed by Brobible, the restaurant chain addressed the accusations directly after a screenshot began circulating widely online.

The claims originated from a screenshot of a post from a Facebook group called White and proud, attributed to a user identified as Nancy Smith. The post alleged a coordinated plan among white servers to tamper with meals served to Black customers at Texas Roadhouse and Logan’s Roadhouse, including claims that staff were licking their fingers and spitting on rolls, and cited a group membership of over 400,000 people.

The screenshot spread quickly across TikTok, Instagram, and X. One X post amplifying the claims drew over 2,500 reposts, while TikTok videos discussing the screenshot reportedly reached more than 1.5 million views, with commenters on the chain’s TikTok page calling for employee firings and an internal investigation.

Texas Roadhouse says its investigation points to a hoax

Texas Roadhouse issued a statement addressing the accusations, saying the claims are “completely unfounded” and that the company takes any accusation against its brand seriously. The company added that it remains committed to treating every guest with respect and dignity.

A company spokesperson said an internal investigation, which included hiring a third-party firm to trace the origin of the claims, found no credible evidence of food tampering. Texas Roadhouse also said it has not identified any current or former employees connected to the alleged scheme, as reported by Complex.

The company pointed to its “manager in the window” system, in which prepared food passes through a quality check at the expo window before reaching a customer’s table, as a safeguard that would make the described tampering difficult to carry out undetected.

Details in the original post have also been disputed. The Facebook group named in the claims has roughly 62,000 members, far short of the 400,000 figure cited, and reportedly includes bots and individuals who joined to mock or counter the group rather than support it. No prior mention of the alleged scheme appeared before the single post that started the controversy.

The X user who first helped spread the claims later retracted their post, writing that after further research, they determined it was a hoax. They said they had shared it without verifying it first.

Logan’s Roadhouse, also named in the original post, had not issued a public statement on the matter as of writing this.