13 Times Texas Roadhouse Made Headlines For All The Wrong Reasons

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It's rare for a company to operate successfully for decades without earning some jaw-dropping headlines. Unhappy customers tend to get vocal online, so negative experiences are often amplified more than positive customer experiences. Some take their disappointment to the next level by filing complaints with relevant offices and pressing charges against the company.

Texas Roadhouse has seen it all, and more. This American steakhouse and casual-dining franchise known for thick-cut Texas-style steaks, melt-off-the-bone ribs, legendary baked rolls, sides, chicken tenders, and complimentary peanuts has seen its fair share of news-worthy occurrences. But despite the sometimes heavy blows to its reputation, Texas Roadhouse is still the country's favorite restaurant (it was voted the top restaurant chain for two consecutive years in an annual survey by the American Customer Satisfaction Index), which speaks a lot about the company and the quality of its food.

From cancelled in-store traditions to labor-related lawsuits, let us revisit 13 times Texas Roadhouse made headlines for all the wrong reasons. 

In August 2025, a mother and her two daughters were enjoying their second basket of buns when the 6-year-old daughter bit into her bread and felt something sharp. Concerned, her mother and older sister checked the bread and were shocked to find several staples baked into the bun.

The family immediately approached the manager on duty, who was also shocked and sorry about the incident. As an apology, the manager reassured them their meals would be on the house. However, a second manager later approached their table and declined to comp their meals. The manager questioned them again about the staples and suggested they might have put them inside the bread.

The teenage daughter went on TikTok to share the experience, saying they were grateful the younger daughter didn't get hurt. They were concerned about the child accidentally swallowing staples more than anything, and acknowledged that mistakes happen. Unfortunately, the conversation with the second manager left a sour taste in their mouth. And going by the reactions of the people in the comments, the public wasn't happy with how the Texas Roadhouse manager handled the situation either.

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No conversation is ever truly private when you're out in public. With everybody owning a smartphone and having access to social media, there's always a chance that someone will record a controversial take and share it with the masses. This was exactly what happened when a woman having lunch at a Washington D.C. airport overheard two Texas Roadhouse agents allegedly discussing a planned termination of an employee. She uploaded the video of the incident, the audio picking up the conversation in the background.

The video sparked online furor because the employee in question was, at that moment, in the ICU. Moreover, the two agents allegedly talked about tricking the employee's husband to sign the receipt of a termination agreement dressed up as a "fake benefits package" via corporate certified mail. Many found the overheard conversation to be heartless. Texas Roadhouse denied that its employees were the ones caught on the video. The company replied to commenters on Facebook saying that the allegations are false, and maintaining that Texas Roadhouse remains a people-first company that values its employees.

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Texas Roadhouse was accused of discrimination with its hiring policies by a conservative, non-profit legal group, America First Legal (AFL). The organization filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against the restaurant on August 1, 2025.

According to the press release published on AFL's website, Texas Roadhouse has committed employment law violations and is guilty of discrimination because the company enforces hiring policies based on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) framework. The complaint alleges that in its supposed commitment to welcome diversity in its workforce, Texas Roadhouse gives unfair priority to women and BIPOC employees, including when nominating members to its Board of Directors. The AFL said that such practices "unlawfully exclude white men from all 'diversity' initiatives."

In a board letter that the AFL sent to Texas Roadhouse, the organization urged the restaurant's executives to correct their alleged discriminatory policies. The AFL pointed out that the current DEI policies are failing its shareholders because they put the company's reputation and compliance obligations at risk. As of this writing, Texas Roadhouse has not yet responded to this discrimination lawsuit.

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Due to the nature of their work, servers inevitably encounter customers who behave rudely towards them, their fellow servers, or other customers. In 2023, Texas Roadhouse server Arthur Mandy endured that and more. A group of diners decked in Confederate attire arrived to dine at the restaurant and were openly disrespectful towards him. "They literally dehumanized me in front of everyone," Mandy said in an interview with WCPO 9 News. The customers ignored him and did not speak to him while he tried to take their orders. One of the men in the party allegedly kept calling 41-year-old Mandy "boy," while some were heard using racial slurs against him.

The incident angered Mandy's co-worker so much, she went on TikTok to express her sadness and frustration. Her post went viral and sparked conversation and ire among social media users. Some commenters called out the Texas Roadhouse branch's management for letting the encounter happen in the first place. However, Mandy clarified that the management didn't force him to serve the group. He did feel that he had to step up because all other servers on duty were also black. Texas Roadhouse talked to WCPO 9 News about the incident and said the managers did their best to address the situation. The customers were eventually asked to leave later that evening. The managers also constantly checked in on Mandy during and after that evening.

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Traditions foster a sense of community and belongingness, binding people together through shared practices and memories. So, it's no surprise that loyal customers of Texas Roadhouse are disappointed that the restaurant chain no longer allows people to throw their peanut shells on the floor.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the floors of Texas Roadhouse restaurants were always covered with peanut shells. A barrel of dry-roasted peanuts would be near the door, and all customers could scoop out as much as they wanted for free. Servers even encouraged people to snack on the peanuts and toss the shells on the floor. This practice gave many fond memories of drawing on the debris-covered floor with their shoes while waiting for their food to arrive.

However, times changed, and certain events led management to stop this popular tradition. The restaurant had received lawsuits from people who got injured after slipping on the peanut shells and many complained about the risk of allergic reactions due to the crushed peanut shells all over the seats and floors. There's also speculation that the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the change. The restaurant reportedly had to implement strict cleanliness and sanitation policies, which effectively stopped shell-throwing inside the restaurants.

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There's usually a collective cheer when servers give as good as they get to ultra-rude customers, but when employees are rude to customers without any good reason? That's a PR disaster no self-respecting establishment wants to be saddled with. This was a lesson for a waitress at a Texas Roadhouse in Colorado back in 2016. Angered that the customer she served didn't leave a tip, the waitress, whom news channels identified as Megan Olson, tweeted a vicious message that read, "If we had a real-life purge I would kill as many Mexicans as I could in one night."

The violent and racially charged tweet unsurprisingly caught the public's attention. Concerned individuals and locals messaged Texas Roadhouse Greeley's Facebook page, informing them of their employee's tweet. A spokesperson for the restaurant chain quickly reassured customers and community members that the company immediately took measures to address the situation. The managing partner of the branch where Olson worked immediately spoke with her and fired her.

Olson was apologetic on Facebook and admitted to her wrongdoing. "There are no excuses for what I have done. I sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, apologize to everyone for my momentary lack of judgment," she reportedly posted, according to Fox 13. The tweet has since been deleted, along with Olson's Twitter and Facebook accounts. A screenshot of the offending tweet, however, is still published on several websites and news sites.

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In 2022, one TikTok user uploaded a video of a veteran dog sitting at a table at a restaurant and being fed steak and fries. It was apparently a free Veterans Day meal that Texas Roadhouse gave the brave dog, who had served in Afghanistan.

While many commenters praised the pooch and thanked Texas Roadhouse for the well-deserved treat, others didn't like that he was allowed to eat off of the cutlery. They found it unsanitary because the dog's handler used the restaurant's plate, knife, and fork. It would have been more acceptable, they said, if the dog ate out of a doggy bowl.

Pets can transmit disease-causing bacteria and viruses to humans through saliva. Sharing eating utensils with dogs can put people at risk of Zoonotic diseases like salmonella, leptospirosis, canine influenza, and rabies. So even if a pet is as well-behaved as the veteran dog in the TikTok video, it would be safer to keep their feeding bowls separate from what people use.

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Texas Roadhouse was embroiled in an age discrimination lawsuit with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) for seven years, from around 2010 to 2017. Touted as the largest age discrimination case the EEOC put together in three decades, the restaurant chain decided to settle the case in 2017 and agreed to pay $12 million to older workers and applicants who were allegedly denied front-of-the-house positions because they were 40 years old or older.

The EEOC's lawsuit claimed that the restaurant chain purposefully hires young people to be servers and hosts. Some applicants were flat-out told that the restaurant was looking for younger employees. Hiring managers also reportedly described some applicants as "old 'n' chubby", "middle age," or not a good fit for the restaurant's image.

Texas Roadhouse denied actively discriminating against older applicants. The EEOC may have revealed that only 1.9% of the front-room hires across 435 locations are over 40 years old, but attorney Stephen Pence implied in a press release that older people don't usually apply to be servers and hosts anyway. He said these positions require employees to line dance, work long hours in the evenings and on weekends, and wear jeans and t-shirts as their uniforms. "It is impossible to hire people that aren't interested in the positions that Texas Roadhouse has to offer," Pence said.

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In November 2018, Sadie Durbin — a mother who was breastfeeding her newborn at a Texas Roadhouse restaurant — was shocked when a manager walked up to her and allegedly tried to cover her and her baby's face with a napkin.

"I latched [the baby] on like I always do, and she was nursing for maybe five minutes when I saw the manager coming around the corner, walking fast and shaking his head at me with a napkin in his hands," Durbin told People. A terse conversation followed with the manager telling her that other customers had complained about her breastfeeding in public. When Durbin stood her ground and declined to cover up, the manager allegedly "tossed the napkin down on the table and kind of huffed off."

Breastfeeding, whether in public or private venues, is legally protected in all 50 states. Moreover, a Kentucky law forbids anyone from interfering with a mother breastfeeding her child and declares that breastfeeding is not an act of public indecency. Unsurprisingly, Texas Roadhouse acknowledged its manager's mistake and said it has since re-educated employees about women's breastfeeding rights.

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In 2022, Texas Roadhouse employees in California filed a class action lawsuit against the restaurant chain for its failure to observe state labor laws. The plaintiff alleged that the management at a California branch would ask employees to do off-the-clock work during their break times and before and after their actual shifts without compensation. The lawsuit also says the restaurant did not provide employees with meals and rest periods, which are required by law.

Two years before this, another lawsuit had been filed against Texas Roadhouse for denying kitchen managers, service managers, and assistant managers overtime pay. This was allegedly practiced at all Texas Roadhouse locations nationwide. And in 2012 and 2016, the restaurant chain settled two wage lawsuits and paid $5 million and $700,000 in compensation to workers for its alleged unfair pay practice of retaining the tips servers received from diners and distributing the money to non-wait staff, like managers, hosts, and kitchen staff.

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Everyone feels the brunt of an economic crisis. As such, many notice when menu prices in casual dining restaurants are higher than usual. In Texas Roadhouse's case, its prices increased two times in just one year in 2023. The restaurant chain's then-CFO, Chris Monroe, cited the rising beef prices and planned wage increase the following year as some of the reasons for increasing the menu prices — the first time by 2.2%, and the second time by 2.7%.

Texas Roadhouse's price increases generated buzz in the restaurant and food service circles. But the increases didn't seem to stop customers from continuing to eat the famous fresh-baked rolls and Texas- and Southern-style steaks. The chain reportedly earned 16.01% more in revenue from 2023 to 2024. It's not just because customers can't get enough of Texas Roadhouse favorites — despite the price increases, the restaurant chain remains one of the more affordable casual dining establishments in the country offering delicious, quality steaks.

When a menu item becomes so beloved among loyal customers, any noticeable change in the dish's flavor, appearance, or serving size becomes a hot topic. People don't like it when their favorite dish suddenly tastes different. They may forgive it once or twice, but if it happens too often, diners will speak about it.

This happened to Texas Roadhouse's famous chicken critters. Loyal customers noticed that the texture and flavor of their widely-loved chicken tenders started changing in 2017. People loved the OG tenders because they were light and crispy, the jagged edges adding texture to the soft chicken within. They were hand-dipped in batter with a mix of spices, deep-fried, then served warm and fresh. The alleged new recipe, however, produced soggy tenders sans the texture and flavor that made the OG Texas Roadhouse chicken critters as famous as its bread rolls.

The new chicken critters disappointed diners so much, a Change.org petition was created to bring back the old recipe. "Texas Roadhouse decided to give the middle finger to [its] loyal customers and change the recipe to their chicken critters," the petition's description said. Years later, many still reminisce about how good they were and demand to bring back the old chicken critters recipe.

On March 18, 2021, the founder of Texas Roadhouse, Kent Taylor, died by suicide after years of enduring debilitating side effects of COVID-19.His family revealed that he was in near constant pain due to severe tinnitus, among other things. His passing was a blow to the company and its entire workforce. Taylor was a well-liked leader known as a charitable man who cared a lot about his employees. He notably declined his salary and bonuses from March 2020 to January 2021, choosing to support Texas Roadhouse's hourly workers instead as their incomes dwindled at the height of the pandemic lockdowns.

Texas Roadhouse continues to uphold Taylor's legacy of hard work, philanthropy, and passion for the good old American dining experience. His people-first attitude remains a key tenet in the restaurant chain's core values. 32 years after Taylor opened the first Texas Roadhouse, the national chain remains one of America's favorite steak houses. It is also the biggest casual dining chain in the country today. No doubt this would have made Kent Taylor happy and proud.