Horn Barbecue Opens In Elk Grove With Full Bar And New Menu Additions

Forbes

30-04-2025

Interior of Horn Barbecue Elk Grove
Horn Barbecue Elk Grove is officially open, bringing Matt Horn's nationally acclaimed barbecue to the Central Valley with more smoke, more space, and a few new tricks. The James Beard-nominated pitmaster—known for redefining West Coast barbecue—opened the new location on Saturday, April 26, taking over the former Slow & Low space on Railroad Street with an expanded menu, full bar, tableside service, and a 100-seat patio made for live music and long afternoons. The Elk Grove restaurant marks the first expansion oforn's flagship and signals a new phase of growth for his AH2 Hospitality Group.
Interior of Horn Barbecue Elk Grove
'Elk Grove presents an ideal opportunity to grow our brand and contribute to the community,' Horn says. 'This is part of our long-term vision—to expand into key markets where we can deliver an authentic and elevated barbecue experience, and open up new opportunities for collaboration and innovation.'
Horn Barbecue Spread
On the menu: all the hits. Fans can expect 19-hour smoked brisket, ribs by the pound, beef links with that perfect snap, and sides like mac and cheese, candied yams, and cornbread that channel generations of Southern cooking. But Elk Grove isn't a carbon copy. New additions like smoked gouda sausages, the stacked Horn Burger, whole chicken and scratch-made milkshakes—boozy or not—add playful, unexpected twists to the lineup.
Matt Horn
'Elk Grove gives us the space to innovate without sacrificing the tradition that defines our barbecue,' Horn explains. 'We're working with local farmers, experimenting with new techniques, and introducing menu elements that expand what barbecue can be—while keeping the soul of it intact.'
The format, too, reflects that shift. With full table service, a serious bar program and live music on the patio, this is more than a line-up-and-wait kind of spot. Horn plans to make use of that expanded format with collaborative events and guest pitmaster appearances.
Horn Barbecue Brisket
'We've created a place that reflects the local community,' says Horn. 'It's welcoming, it's contemporary, and it brings people together the way barbecue always has.'
Horn Barbecue in Oakland earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand and nods from Food & Wine, Esquire, and the James Beard Foundation. This new location in Elk Grove carries that legacy forward—while offering Horn a chance to keep evolving his style of California-born, Black South-rooted, Central Texas-inspired barbecue.
Matt Horn