His BBQ is legendary in Bay Area. Now, Matt Horn will open Fresno restaurant
One of California’s most well-known barbecue pitmasters — and a Fresno native — is officially bringing his restaurant to his hometown this summer.
Matt Horn is the founder of Horn Barbecue in Oakland, Lafayette and Elk Grove, along with the Kowbird hot chicken sandwich restaurant in Oakland.
He’s also known nationally as a chef, earned a James Beard Award nomination for Best New Restaurant, and has been featured in the New York Times.
Now he’s bringing Horn Barbecue to central Fresno, specifically, the former Yosemite Falls Cafe spot in Granite Park at 4020 N. Cedar Ave.
After closing on New Year’s Eve, the 6,489-square-foot building and its liquor license were listed for sale for $2.5 million in January. It’s part of Granite Park, a sports and entertainment complex that includes Club One Casino and Me-N-Ed’s Victory Grill.
Who is Matt Horn?
The Bee was the first media outlet in Fresno to break the news in 2022 that Horn was planning to open a restaurant in Fresno. (Though it was slightly overshadowed at the time by another another big name in the Oakland barbecue scene with ties to Fresno, James Woodard, who had just announced plans to open what is now the thriving Smokin Woods BBQ in the Brewery District downtown.)
Horn is a household name in the Bay Area.
In 2021, Horn Barbecue was awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand, making it the first-ever barbecue eatery to be recognized in the prestigious Michelin Guide for restaurants. It was also the first-ever Black-owned barbecue restaurant in the country to earn this distinction.
Horn and his barbecue restaurant earned heavy-hitting awards nationwide, including being named one of Eater’s Best New Restaurants in America and Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs in America.
But perhaps more relevant to Fresnans, who care more about taco trucks than Michelin honors, Horn is from here.
He went to Steinbeck Elementary, Bullard Talent, and graduated from Edison High School. At Edison, he played football and track.
He got into barbecue after he was let go from a seasonal job with UPS. He taught himself to barbecue in his grandmother’s west Fresno backyard, according to a news release.
Horn wasn’t immediately available for comment.
But he will be bringing the recipes for brisket, beef and pork ribs, burnt ends, hot links and sides that he’s worked on for years to the Fresno restaurant. No word yet on whether Fresno favorite tri-tip will be on the menu.
“I’m incredibly excited to return to Fresno and share Horn Barbecue with the community that helped shape me,” he said in an emailed news release. “This city has always been my foundation, and it’s where I found my passion for cooking. After the success of our locations in Lafayette and Elk Grove, I’m ready to give back and elevate the dining scene here.”
The restaurant is being revamped and will open sometime this summer. No opening date has been set.
This story was originally published May 15, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
