Oakland: Fire ravages celebrated pitmaster’s Horn Barbecue

A fire early Tuesday ravaged West Oakland’s acclaimed Horn Barbecue, two days after pitmaster Matt Horn’s restaurant was defaced with graffiti.

When firefighters arrived on the scene of the 4:19 a.m. blaze, they saw heavy fire and smoke coming from the rear of the 2534 Mandela Parkway building. They contained the fire within 15 minutes and declared it under control at 5:03 a.m., according to Oakland fire spokesman Michael Hunt.

Damage was so significant that city inspectors have red-tagged the building, meaning it cannot be entered until structural concerns are addressed. The fire’s cause is under investigation.

The restaurant is normally closed Tuesdays and no one would have been inside cooking, authorities were told. Horn confirmed that to KTVU.

Angered by the graffiti incident that presumably occurred overnight Sunday, Horn had taken to social media Monday to scold the “cowardly individuals” responsible for their “senseless acts of crime,” and vowed to “stand firmer, more united, and more united” in the face of vandalism and other crime.

To wit, he told KTVU he will go ahead Wednesday with the restaurant’s annual turkey giveaway for food-insecure families at 1 p.m. Wednesday. “I want to move forward and show the community we’re resilient in the face of this tragedy.”

Horn rose to national fame for his smoked meat pop-ups, which led to the opening of Horn Barbecue in October 2020 and numerous accolades. In 2021, he was named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs in America. He owns and operates two other Oakland restaurants, the chicken-centric Kowbird and a burger joint called Matty’s Old Fashioned.