Texas Roadhouse Sales Rebound After Hoax Post
Company says a viral fake post alleging racist treatment of Black diners was a hoax and that sales and traffic have since recovered.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Dining Out
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Texas Roadhouse reported that a now-deleted Facebook post falsely accusing its employees of tampering with Black diners' food hurt sales and traffic in the third quarter. Executives said sales and traffic began recovering in October after the company concluded the post was a hoax.
Why it matters
The episode shows how a single unverified social media post can affect a restaurant chain's quarterly results even after it is disproven. For diners across the country, it highlights how quickly online claims can reshape consumer behavior at familiar dining brands.
Texas Roadhouse reported third-quarter same-store sales growth of 4.3% and traffic growth of 0.7% year over year. Same-store sales were up 1.5% through the first five weeks of the current quarter, with the company not attributing the full gap to a single cause.
The players
Texas Roadhouse
Texas Roadhouse is a casual steakhouse chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, known for its made-from-scratch menu and rolls.
The details
A Facebook post by a user named Nancy Smith, later deleted, began circulating in September, claiming employees at Texas Roadhouse and Logan's Roadhouse planned to tamper with Black diners' food. The company investigated, including an outside forensic review, and concluded the post was a hoax.
Timeline
July: same-store sales rose 5.9% year over year.
August: same-store sales rose 6.8% year over year.
September: sales fell to 1% after the post circulated.
October: sales and traffic began improving every week.
Early November: the improvement continued.
Industry Dynamics
Restaurant chains have increasingly faced reputational shocks from unverified posts spreading on social platforms. This episode shows that even a debunked claim can reduce traffic in a single quarter before sales recover.
For diners, the episode means the chain's locations remain open and its menu is unchanged, with the company expecting 35 new restaurants by year's end. The reader can expect continued availability at Texas Roadhouse and Logan's Roadhouse locations across the country.
The takeaway
A viral claim can dent a company's numbers even after it is proven false, so diners may find it useful to check the source of alarming online posts before changing where they eat.
Further reading
For more on the restaurant industry's recent performance, explore Dining Out coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Nation's Restaurant News.
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Do you think viral social media posts about restaurants are usually trustworthy?
