The Many Times Texas Roadhouse Made Headlines It Probably Didn't Want

While you're not going to find Texas Roadhouse getting included in roundups of the best steakhouses in every state, it's still a perfectly acceptable option for those nights when the craving for a straightforward steak hits. Opt for some of the oft-overlooked hidden gems of a Texas Roadhouse menu, order a perfectly delightful cocktail, and — of course — get those sweet, sweet rolls, and you'll get your steak fix in a comfortable restaurant at an affordable price point. There's nothing wrong with that, but that's not to say that Texas Roadhouse hasn't made its way into the spotlight in less than favorable ways.

There's an old saying that there's no such thing as bad publicity, but that's not entirely the case, is it? A story may go viral on mainstream or social media and turn customers away from a spot permanently, and in the cutthroat restaurant industry, that's something that even the largest chains just can't afford to have happen. Unfortunately for Texas Roadhouse, it's happened often.

Let's take a look at some of the times Texas Roadhouse found itself in the spotlight that it definitely didn't want. The chain has gone viral on social media for all the wrong reasons, making waves in national and local mainstream media, and in some cases, problems have repeated themselves with troubling frequency. From health inspections gone bad to labor disputes, concerns over food safety, and skyrocketing prices, here are some of the high-profile public incidents that Texas Roadhouse could have done without.

Back in 2024, we here at Tasting Table reported on the fact that Texas Roadhouse had announced it was going to be raising prices for the third time in less than a calendar year, and that's enough to give even the most devout fan some serious pause. Interestingly, something strange also happened at the same time: Texas Roadhouse knocked Olive Garden out of the top spot in rankings of the most popular casual dining chains in the country. Growth increased along with prices, and on one hand, that's kind of understandable.

For a while, we've all known that beef is likely to get more and more expensive. That's all due to everything from skyrocketing costs shouldered by farmers, a low cattle supply, and drought conditions, and it all gets passed down the line to the end consumer. What we don't know is when customers will decide they've had enough.

In early 2026, Texas Roadhouse was still reporting that sales numbers were on the rise, but profit margins were down. The solution was to raise prices again, and it was announced that an additional 1.9% increase was going to make its way to menus, in addition to a 3.6% increase that had defined previous quarters. Customers have definitely noticed the rising prices, taking to social media platforms like Reddit to wonder just when things are going to reach a peak and just how far it's going to go.

Back in 2018, Texas Roadhouse made headlines in Kentucky. The story (via WCHS) came with a warning that there was a chance — albeit a small one — that anyone who had eaten there between March 20 and April 12 had been exposed to hepatitis A. The press release noted that an employee had tested positive, and the following month, the restaurant was back in the news again, reporting that a second case had been diagnosed. Both employees had come into contact with food, but the media was also quick to report that the risk to patrons was low, and everyone at the location had been vaccinated.

Instances of hepatitis A typically manifest with gastrointestinal distress, fever, and exhaustion, vary in severity, and can be spread through food or physical contact. It results in liver inflammation, and although Texas Roadhouse noted that no one had reported falling ill during the 2018 incident, it very strangely happened again in 2020. 

This time, it was a Texas Roadhouse in Bangor, Maine, that announced one of its employees had been diagnosed. Press releases from November 4 listed the October dates when the employee was on duty and came into contact with customer food, and it was stressed that those who had eaten there should consider being vaccinated, with a caveat: in some cases, the two-week period when the vaccine is effective had already passed.

The posted health inspection grade is an indication of what's going on behind the scenes at any given restaurant, and it's completely understandable if customers decide to skip places that don't get the very highest grade possible. That brings us to Texas Roadhouse, which has locations across the country that have made headlines for being closed after failing health inspections in dismal ways. While it's impossible to talk about them all, let's just take a few from 2025, starting with a restaurant in Henrietta, New York.

That one was closed in February after inspectors found some pretty problematic things, including rodent droppings in the peanuts, a dead mouse in a soda machine, roaches around the dishwasher, and a roach in the sauce on the cook line. Texas Roadhouse's explanation was a bit lacking, and read (in part, via News 10), "A recent pest issue, which is common in the county, especially during the winter months, has caused the closure."

That store wasn't alone, and a few other headline-making incidents included the discovery of rodent-damaged bags of flour in Topeka, Kansas, a Lexington, Kentucky, location that was closed due to sewage overflowing into the bar and kitchen, and violations at a Georgia location that included flies in the kitchen, build-up on ice machines, and improper sanitation of dishes. Also, a Colorado Springs location was reprimanded for issues like leaking sinks, improper storage of beef, and dirty cutting boards.

In 2018, an incident at a Texas Roadhouse in Kentucky kicked off backlash that ended with a group gathering in protest at the restaurant. Sadie Durbin was at the Louisville location when she began to breastfeed her daughter, and she explained what happened to Today: "She was nursing for maybe five minutes when I saw the manager coming around. He was walking toward me fast and shaking his head, and he had a napkin unrolled. He came up pretty close and he said, 'Ma'am, we've been getting a lot of complaints and we're going to need you to cover up.'"

Durbin went on to say that the manager tried to cover her and her baby with a napkin before walking away, and when Durbin later posted to Facebook about it, things kicked off. Both Durbin and the restaurant manager began to receive threats, which began a discussion about the legalities of breastfeeding in public. Kentucky law makes breastfeeding in public fully legal, and Durbin escalated the matter by filing a lawsuit.

The manager in question was put on paid leave, and no verdict in the lawsuit has been reported. However, Texas Roadhouse did issue an official apology, a promise to thoroughly train employees regarding breastfeeding policies and legalities, and to hold a fundraiser for the organization that was behind the protests, La Leche League of Louisville.

In 2025, Texas Roadhouse got possibly the worst kind of press imaginable when a TikTok video went viral. In it, customers at the Walpole, Massachusetts, location shared a terrifying story: The 6-year-old sister of the TikTok user who posted the video felt something foreign in a roll. The video showed the family discovering staples baked into bread in an incident corroborated by others who were nearby at the time. Management's response ranged from agreeing to comp the entire meal to denying it was the kitchen's fault.

That's not the first time foreign matter in food has caused waves. In 2008, a customer filed a lawsuit over an incident — supported by testimony from another Texas Roadhouse employee — in which a cook had cut open a steak and inserted hair after a meal was returned to the kitchen. The cook entered a guilty plea, and although the customer was awarded damages, that was overturned in 2012.

One former West Virginia employee has also spoken about the things they claim to have witnessed during their time at Texas Roadhouse (via TikTok), which never made headlines at the time the incidents happened. Claims included finding steel wool inside ground meat, fake fingernails and magnets in food, cockroaches baked into bread, and a dirty diaper and a dead rat in the peanut barrel. The comment section of that video is filled with others sharing still more horror stories, which isn't a good look.

In 2025, a Texas Roadhouse customer posted a video to TikTok showing a takeout container of steak. Using the back of a spoon, she scraped away at the steak to show that it turned very quickly into a soft, cat-food-like texture.

The video didn't go unnoticed, with multiple outlets resharing the video and a ton of viewers heading to the comment section to warn her that she needed to contact the health department, as it was likely an abscess from a sick animal. We all know that the internet is full of so-called experts, and it's worth noting that even popular opinions should be taken with a grain of salt.

Still, no restaurant wants its food to be associated with something so utterly unappetizing. Fortunately, journalists at our sister site, The Takeout, went right to Texas Roadhouse to find out what they had to say. Texas Roadhouse responded, saying that the strange texture is a result of an over-tenderized steak that had also been overcooked. Our experts at The Takeout confirmed that it's an entirely plausible explanation, and the processes could turn steak into, well, to use the technical term, goo.

Discrimination lawsuits are never a good look for any company, and in 2011, Texas Roadhouse was hit with a massive one. According to the initial filing, there was plenty of evidence to suggest that Texas Roadhouse was discriminating against hiring front-of-house employees who were over age 40 (via ABC News). Cited evidence included the fact that at the time, 98.1% of the chain's waitstaff, hosts, and bartenders were under 40. Also, attorneys reported having testimony from those who confirmed applicants were judged on things like age and attractiveness.

After initially resulting in a hung jury, the lawsuit — which was one of the largest of its kind — was settled in favor of the applicants. Texas Roadhouse was ordered to pay $12 million to applicants over 40 who were turned down for jobs over seven years. 

Along with the verdict was an appeal for eligible persons to come forward, and it was noted that many might not even be aware of the fact that they were discriminated against because of age. Texas Roadhouse continued to deny the practice and was quick to note that agreeing to the settlement was simply a business decision and a move to avoid dragging the case out longer.

Arthur Mandy was working as a server at a Texas Roadhouse in West Chester, Ohio, in 2023. It was a coworker who initially brought to light an incident involving a group of customers — sporting Confederate tattoos and logos — who came in, sat down, and started hurling racist abuse at Mandy, who is Black. After the story went viral, Mandy told WCPO: "It was probably the worst moment of my life. They literally dehumanized me in front of everyone. ... They clearly wanted to fight. They wanted to rile me up. They wanted to get something out of me. I mean, you know, my emotions just came out one way or the other, and I started crying."

Management didn't step in — Mandy said that he needed to go to them and say that he couldn't deal with the table anymore. What happened was just as shocking: Things got even more chaotic, and after complaints about the food, management turned their $400+ bill into less than $100.

It was noted that the group was banned going forward, but it's easy to see how the handling of the situation was questionable. Texas Roadhouse issued an official statement that there are procedures in place to protect employees, but coworkers say that it took too long for intervention. When a news outlet tracked down members of the party later, they claimed it was all a misunderstanding.

Accusations of employees being subjected to sexual harassment have put Texas Roadhouse in the headlines several times, including in 2014. That's when the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued on the heels of accusations that the manager of an Ohio location not only instructed managers to hire young women, but openly participated in fostering a culture of harassment and retaliation targeting female staff, some of whom were minors. 

That lawsuit was settled for $1.4 million, bringing an end to a case that spanned more than three years of complaints from 12 people. That, however, is not the only lawsuit to be filed, and one that hit headlines in 2023 is, at the time of this writing, apparently still unresolved.

Three separate lawsuits were filed by employees of the Morgantown, West Virginia, location of Texas Roadhouse, and each stated that they had been harassed by a manager. Defendants charged that they had been verbally and physically harassed, and the lawsuits also included the names of others who were accused of being complicit in the abuse.

In late 2025, a confrontation at an Albuquerque Texas Roadhouse led to a shooting and several arrests in an incident that — at the time of this writing — is still unresolved. According to witnesses (via Albuquerque Journal), it began when a man walked into the restaurant, asked for "Gabe," then punched Gabriel Sena several times and fled with his necklace. Sena allegedly got a gun from his car, then shot him after catching up with him in a nearby parking lot.

At least one other person from Texas Roadhouse had followed, as witnesses reported it was someone wearing one of the restaurant's aprons who helped stop Joshua McKeough's bleeding. When law enforcement arrived, they found it was Sena who claimed to have called them. McKeough was stabilized, and both parties faced charges: McKeough for robbery, Sena for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Texas Roadhouse has paid out some whopping fines over wage and labor disputes, including a $5 million settlement back in 2012. That came at the end of a Massachusetts-based lawsuit accusing the chain of paying servers much below minimum wage, while taking tips and sharing those wages among non-waitstaff employees. A similar lawsuit over the same practice — taking tips from servers, pooling them, and sharing among all employees — led to a $700,000 settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed in South Carolina and settled in 2016. 

A 2022 lawsuit also raised questions about labor practices at the chain. Claims included accusations that California employees were often denied breaks, asked to perform work duties while off the clock, were not reimbursed for business expenses, and were not compensated for overtime hours. After a debate in federal court, it was decided that the entire case be turned back over to state courts — in part because of the amount of money attached to the claims being made in the lawsuit. That was in 2024, and at the time of this writing, there's no more information to be found.