One Of The Best BBQ Franchises In The U.S. Just Closed Its Final Store For A Frustrating Reason

It’s a specifically sad kind of moment when the last curlicue of meat-laced smoke rises up and dissipates into a warm summer night. Maybe it means the end of a backyard barbecue. Maybe it means old friends parting ways after a good and greasy feast. Or maybe, if you’re Matt Horn, it means the end of a troubled, but critically acclaimed, era. 

Videos by Sporked

This month marks the closure of the last outpost of Matt Horn’s eponymous low-and-slow empire, Horn Barbecue. And while it’s maybe fitting that the final closure occurred in Oakland, the city where Horn built his legacy, the reason the Oakland spot closed feels less fitting than… confusing. 

A Low-And-Slow (And Tested) Legacy

Tribulation and (literal) trials aren’t entirely new to the world of Horn Barbecue. The concept―smoked meats and Texas-style brisket―started first as a food truck almost a decade before Horn evolved it into a series of successful, but very time-consuming pop-ups in the Oakland area. 

Finally, however, he was able to establish his first brick-and-mortar Horn Barbecue in 2020. But then, just three years later, came the arson-related fire that burned down that location in late 2023. In truth, along the way, it seems there were myriad financial issues plaguing the world of Horn Barbecue, anything from wage theft accusations to supplier lawsuits. Still, it seems like the indomitable Horn couldn’t stop dreaming―expanding his business into concepts like Kowbird, Elk Grove, and Matty’s Old Fashioned, all of which have seen their fair share of tribulations as well. 

But Why Did Horn Barbecue Finally (Finally) Close?

The reason given is simple: according to a statement from Horn spokesperson Seneca Scott delivered to The San Francisco Chronicle, the last Horn Barbecue location was shuttered by choice. Horn had decided not to renew the lease because “without the ability to smoke meats on-site, the location could no longer deliver the experience that defined Horn Barbecue.” 

The truth might be more complicated. Recent (Yelp-reviewed) visits to the Oakland spot suggest the restaurant has been operating sporadically. And Horn has already closed three other locations in the past year: Lafayette, Elk Grove, and a location in Fresno that was open for just six months. While details of the lease remain unclear, there’s a high chance that the years of economic challenges coupled with Horn’s maybe too-ambitious expansion plans was too much for the restaurant group to financially sustain. 

Which, in a way, means Horn’s own dreams might be what dragged down that last curlicue of delicious smoke flavor―for now, anyway. Because, ever-ambitious, Horn already has plans to keep the fires burning with a variety of events, catering, pop-ups, etc., until he finds his next smoky home.