Anyone who’s ever worked in a restaurant knows there are a lot of on-the-job secrets.
Sometimes, these secrets are fun. For example, some servers swear there’s a hidden, surefire tactic to get customers to order dessert.
However, in other cases, restaurants are hiding real problems, whether those are major health code violations or general poor maintenance.
Recently, one internet user recounted their experience working for a single day at Texas Roadhouse. According to him, the experience was so “disgusting” that he’s recommending viewers “do not eat there.”
What’s Wrong With Texas Roadhouse?
In a video with over 174,000 views, TikTok user Kaden (@kaden..reeve) recounts what he said he witnessed while working at Texas Roadhouse for a single four-hour shift.
First, he says that the serving trays were only washed at the end of the day. This was a problem because, according to him, they occasionally became dirty during the workday.
“One of [the trays] was really disgusting, had a lot of sticky stuff on it,” Kaden says. “Went to bring it over to the dish pit, and [my trainer] goes, ‘No, we don’t do that.’ And I was like, ‘What, do we just wash ourselves?’ Then she goes, ‘No, they only get washed at the end of the night’—and she tapped it off the floor and put it back on the shelf to be used.”
When the trainer was called out for this act, Kaden says she simply “smiled and walked away.”
What Else Happened?
Kaden says this trainer posed continual problems. At one point, he claims she attempted to throw a used Dunkin’ cup into a trash can but missed, causing the cup to land in customers’ food that was about to be sent out.
Later, she was allegedly eating a cracker and then tried to throw the rest of the cracker away. He says she missed the trash can once again—causing crumbs from her cracker to land in the sauces that were used in the expo line.
Finally, he says that health standards at the restaurant were simply poor overall.
“For some reason, the servers loved to, like, put their hands all over the food without gloves or anything and, like, check it—like, make sure the burger had jalapeños on it,” he says. “But, like, why are you doing that with no gloves, no nothing? I have not seen you wash your hands in, like, two hours.”
“Nobody on the line changed their gloves enough, and I know that for a fact,” he adds.
Kaden says this location later failed a health inspection. That said, Kaden says this experience was not dissimilar from his time working at other chain restaurants.
“But it’s not just Texas Roadhouse that’s like this. It is literally every single chain restaurant,” he states.
Is It Just This Location?
Thankfully, commenters indicated that this was not normal for Texas Roadhouse.
“I work at TXRH and buddy I think it’s just your location,” said a user. “[Our] store strict.”
“Bro….it depends on the location. Yall you youngens dont realize or understand how good Texas roadhouse really is. The quality compared to other places is far superior. You worked at a bad location,” offered another.
Eventually, the TikToker revealed the exact location—Augusta, Maine. According to the state’s health inspection search, the location did not, in fact, fail their health inspection.
That said, they still had a variety of issues. For example, raw meat was improperly stored and thawed unsafely. The report noted that equipment was in disrepair, and overall, physical facilities were unclean. Still, the location passed its inspection.
Commenters Are Disgusted
In the comments section, users claimed that low cleanliness standards weren’t exactly uncommon in the restaurant industry.
“I had a friend who saw a cook drop a steak on the floor and the cook picked it up and put it on the grill,” recalled a user.
Another added, “I see food service workers keep the same gloves they handle food with and touch anything. it’s repulsive.”
“I just assume all restaurants are nasty and try not to think about it.. Dude we don’t even want to know,” shared a third.
BroBible reached out to Texas Roadhouse via email and Kaden via TikTok direct message and comment.