Matt Horn, chef and owner of the renowned Horn Barbecue in Oakland, experienced a series of unfortunate events recently which culminated in the destruction of his restaurant due to fire. The restaurant was vandalized with graffiti on Sunday night and then on Tuesday morning, the prep crew showed up to work to see a portion of the building in ruins. The fire investigators believe the fire originated inside a gated enclosure just outside the building. Surveillance video from a neighboring business, Voyage Foods, shows the fire started nearly an hour before dispatchers got the call at 4:19 a.m. “I feel completely deflated honestly,” Horn said. “Just walking around and looking at everything and seeing the family pictures burned up.”
The walls of Horn Barbecue tell the story of the chef’s entrepreneurial endeavors. The Oakland pitmaster and his “West Coast Barbecue” have been featured throughout the nation, in Sunset and Esquire magazines, as well as by Forbes, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Mercury News and the New York Times. Horn’s restaurant was also recognized by Michelin as one of California’s most affordable eateries in 2021, and the James Beard Foundation named Horn Barbecue as a semifinalist for “Best New Restaurant” in 2022. However, the restaurant had faced financial difficulties in the past as reported by SFGate, with complaints about not being able to pay the distributors and the staff saying their paychecks had bounced.
Despite this tragedy, Horn decided to hold his third annual turkey giveaway on Wednesday at 1 p.m. on the sidewalk outside his now-burned restaurant, giving away turkeys to families in need. “I want to move forward and show the community we’re resilient in the face of this tragedy,” Horn said. This event of his holding a turkey give away shows his resilience and determination to look ahead after the tragic event.
