A worker slices ribs at Horn Barbecue in Oakland in 2020. Owner Matt Horn has closed his restaurant in Elk Grove, while other locations appear to be struggling.
Noah Berger/For the S.F. Chronicle
In January, lines stretched out the front door for the opening of the latest Horn Barbecue, a splashy, 6,500-square-foot outpost of Matt Horn’s eponymous restaurant located in Fresno. But elsewhere in his barbecue empire, the lights were off.
The prominent operator continued to grow Horn Barbecue over the past year, but at least one short-lived location is now closed, and others appear to be either closed or struggling.
In a written statement provided after publication, Seneca Scott, a representative for Horn, cited the headwinds contributing to restaurant closures across California, including “rising costs, labor pressures, and an unforgiving economy.”
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“Horn Barbecue is not a scandal — it is a working business navigating those same realities while continuing to rebuild after a devastating fire. There is no perfect playbook in this climate,” Scott wrote. “What remains constant is the commitment to the community, to staff, and to building something sustainable. Adjustments are being made where necessary, with the focus on longevity — not spectacle.”
Horn Barbecue in Elk Grove has closed after less than a year, property owner Steve Lebastchi confirmed. He said owner Matt Horn fell behind on rent and “couldn’t continue.” It’s been permanently shuttered for a month, said Lebastchi, despite public comments from Horn to the contrary in local media. Signs in the front window state “no entry, currently under the building owner’s possession.” Lebastchi said he forgave “several months” of unpaid rent. (The restaurant was only open for about eight months.)
At Horn’s Lafayette location, which opened last March, a liquor license suspension notice is taped in a darkened front window. The restaurant’s license was suspended due to a collections hold filed by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, according to state records. The department declined to provide specifics about the suspension, but said that a business’ alcohol license can be suspended if the owner has failed to pay certain taxes. Austin Sharp, who owns Headlands Brewing, located next door to Horn in Lafayette, said he has not seen it open in January. Their shared property management company offered him the restaurant space a few months ago, he said.
Horn Barbecue in Oakland, meanwhile, appears to have operated infrequently in recent weeks, and pared its hours from five to three days a week. On Friday, 15 minutes after its publicized opening time, the 8th Street restaurant was closed, with window shades completely covering the darkened front windows. A handwritten sign taped to the front door said the business was sold out “due to high demand” and “must close earlier than usual.” An employee at next-door taproom Sante Adairius said the sign had been up for at least a week.
Horn Barbecue Oakland and Lafayette were not accepting online orders on Toast or DoorDash on Friday.
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Matt Horn stands outside the original Horn Barbecue in Oakland in 2020.
Noah Berger/For the S.F. Chronicle
Multiple groups of people arrived at Horn in Oakland on Friday for lunch and left, confused by the closure. Recent Yelp reviews also mention people arriving during publicized opening hours to a locked, dark restaurant, including one customer who said they ordered brisket for Christmas dinner and couldn’t pick it up. All of the locations have struggled to consistently have their full menus available, according to online reviews.
Horn Barbecue started as a popup in Oakland in 2016, then became a restaurant in 2020 and shot to national fame. By 2022, it was drawing public controversy for wage theft allegations and multiple lawsuits from vendors and former employees. Horn is currently facing five open wage claims filed with the California Department of Industrial Relations.
On Jan. 15, a former Horn Barbecue employee, Francisco Berber, filed a California Private Attorney Generals Act (PAGA) notice accusing the business of a “repeated and continuous practice of blatantly stealing from its employees and depriving them of their rightfully earned wages.” Berber, who briefly worked as a kitchen manager at Horn Barbecue in Oakland in early 2025, alleges he was never paid for his hours. Berber also filed a wage-theft lawsuit against Horn in Alameda County Superior Court last year; Horn has denied the claims in court.
Through PAGA, workers can sue, on behalf of themselves and others, employers for labor violations and potentially recoup civil penalties. These claims have resulted in large payouts for restaurant workers, including a $2.2 million settlement for more than 300 employees of a chain of Bay Area Indian restaurants in 2022. The state has 65 days to respond to the initial PAGA notice; it has not yet for Berber’s.
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Horn opened his first restaurant in Oakland in 2020; three years later, it closed after a fire that was later investigated as arson. His spinoff restaurants, Kowbird in Oakland and Las Vegas, and Matty’s Old Fashioned in Oakland, have all closed.
This story has been updated to include comment from owner Matt Horn.
Dining and Cooking