Texas Roadhouse says claims of employees discussing spitting in Black customers' food in a Facebook group are 'completely unfounded'

Texas Roadhouse clapped back at the viral social media claim that its white servers were discussing spitting in Black customers' food in a private Facebook group as a hoax and confirmed that the claims based on which diners raised boycott calls were completely unfounded.

The controversy started when an unverified claim originated on Facebook, allegedly from a user warning Black diners to avoid eating at Texas Roadhouse and Logan's Roadhouse. The post alleged that a secret Facebook group boasting over 400,000 white server members existed for the explicit purpose of organizing food contamination targeted at Black customers. Specific accusations claimed that servers were licking their fingers, spitting in saliva, and touching items like the chain's famous fresh rolls before serving them.The controversy escalated as the post went viral and customers called for a nationwide boycott."We are committed to creating an environment where every guest is treated with respect and unreasonable hospitality," Texas Roadhouse officials wrote responding to the outrage. "We do not tolerate discrimination, harassment or mistreatment of any kind, and we expect our Roadies to treat every guest with dignity and care."

Texas Roadhouse brought in an independent third-party cybersecurity firm to trace the origins of the post. They confirmed there was no evidence of such a 400,000-member group existing, nor any record of food-tampering incidents linked to the claim.Travis Doster, chief communications officer of Texas Roadhouse, told USA TODAY that some social media users who defamed the chain retracted their statements after it was proved to be a hoax."There’s no video of any of our servers," he said. "There’s no video of anybody saying they have evidence. It’s very frustrating because it’s not true." He also suggested the culprit behind the post could be bots, or automated programs that make posts mimicking human engagement online. "There is zero credible evidence this is true,” he said. “This did not happen in any of our restaurants."

Viral post deleted after creating outrage

The original Facebook post was deleted. It was allegedly shared in a Facebook group called "White and proud," where a user named Nancy Smith said they worked at an unidentified Texas Roadhouse location and was in a pact with other White servers at the restaurant to contaminate the food of Black guests.The user said this had been going on for a while, or at least since the April 2025 killing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf by Black teenager Karmelo Anthony. Anthony has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for the stabbing.