Horn Barbecue wage-theft investigation launched by Fresno city attorney

Horn Barbecue, the much-hyped and now-closed, restaurant from famed chef and Fresno native Matt Horn, is under investigation for wage theft.

That’s according to Fresno’s City Attorney’s Office, which confirmed the investigation to The Bee on Monday.

It offered few other details.

“The case was referred to our office by the state and an investigation in ongoing,” the office said in an email.

“We don’t have a further comment while the investigation is pending.”

This is the latest in the saga of Horn Barbecue, which had more than a year’s worth of hype when it opened at Fresno’s Granite Park in January. The restaurant was seen as a homecoming for the chef, who had been a rising star in the culinary world, with a James Beard Award nomination, a Michelin’s Bib Gourmand award (a first for a Black-owned barbecue restaurant) and features in Forbes Magazine, among others.

The opening was met with excited from patrons, who cued up in long lines to try Horn’s Central Texas meets Central Valley-style barbecue, which was cooked on site, in a pair of massive offset smokers.

The excitement was short-lived.

Within months, there were allegations of trouble in the workplace. Several employees filed claims with state for unpaid wages. Several quit. By June, a dozen employees had filed claims with the state’s Department of Industrial Relations and the restaurant had officially closed.

It was served with June 17 “notice to vacate,” a pre-cursor to formal eviction.

Prior to the closure, a representative for Horn told The Bee any payment difficulties were temporary because the restaurant’s opening had been delayed and it had been spending money without taking any in. Data from the state shows dozens of claims have been filed against Horn’s restaurants in Fresno, but also in Oakland and the Sacramento area. Most are still under investigation. Three have been dismissed. Of those two were abandoned by the claimant.

Horn Barbecue in Oakland, Elk Grove

In January, the chef told The Bee he was looking to set up a permanent “home base” in Fresno, but at the time was splitting between restaurants here and in the Bay Area.

Horn had established himself in the Bay Area, with a series of pop-up restaurants that eventually led to a brick-and-mortar location in Oakland.

Several others came in rather quick succession, including spots in Lafayette (east of Oakland) and the Sacramento suburb Elk Grove.

Of those, only the Oakland location remains opens; operating from Thursday to Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. or when the food sells out. . Horn was also evicted from his Lafayette location, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Elk Grove restaurant was repossessed by its landlord in January, less than a year after opening.