Mired in debt, Oakland’s Horn Barbecue hit by large fireplace

An enormous fireplace ravaged West Oakland’s Horn Barbecue early Tuesday morning, leaving the constructing unsafe for occupation, based on Michael Hunt, a spokesperson for the Oakland Fireplace Division. 

The fireplace began round 4:19 a.m. at 2534 Mandela Parkway, and firefighters contained it inside half-hour, Hunt instructed SFGATE. No staff had been cooking when the hearth began, based on Hunt. There have been no accidents, and the hearth didn’t unfold to different companies or properties within the space. Officers are nonetheless figuring out if the constructing is salvageable. 

The reason for the hearth is beneath investigation, based on Hunt, though Carroll Fife, a councilmember who represents West Oakland, raised the opportunity of arson when talking with the San Francisco Chronicle (the Chronicle and SFGATE are each owned by Hearst however have separate newsrooms). She instructed the publication she’d heard from the Horn household, which owns the restaurant, who stated the hearth appeared “very intentional.” Neither Fife nor chef Matt Horn instantly responded to requests for remark from SFGATE. 

These monetary woes have solely grown, based on public information. In 2023 alone, Horn Barbecue was topic to monetary judgments of over $300,000, together with money owed to suppliers Bi-Ceremony, Golden Gate Meat Co. and GrubMarket totaling over $260,000. Jonni Graves, vice chairman of Golden Gate Meat, instructed SFGATE that the corporate has not obtained any funds from Horn on the $73,000 he at the moment owes. The opposite suppliers didn’t instantly reply to questions from SFGATE. 

In Might of this 12 months, the state of California ordered Horn Barbecue to pay over $47,000 in again taxes, based on public information. Each of Matt Horn’s different eating places — Kowbird, which opened in January 2022, and Matty’s Outdated Normal, which opened in July of this 12 months — are additionally in debt, based on public filings. On Nov. 8, Kowbird was hit with a state tax lien for money owed totaling practically $34,000.

Fireplace division spokesperson Hunt declined to invest on claims that the hearth was intentional, citing the continuing investigation.

“We’re actually attempting to only unravel the reason for the hearth,” he instructed SFGATE. “We will not actually draw any conclusions till we all know extra about what sparked this hearth within the first place.”

SFGATE Politics Editor Alex Shultz contributed to this report.