Matt Horn's final restaurant, at 464 Eighth St. in Old Oakland, has closed after he declined to renew the lease — the fourth Horn Barbecue to shut in seven months.

The last Horn Barbecue has gone dark. Matt Horn's final restaurant, at 464 Eighth St. in Old Oakland, has closed after the pitmaster declined to renew its lease, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday.

In an emailed statement provided through spokesperson Seneca Scott, Horn told the Chronicle that the room could not smoke meat on-site. "Without the ability to smoke meats on-site, the location could no longer deliver the experience that defined Horn Barbecue," he said.

The address has its own Horn history. It was home to his burger spot, Matty's Old Fashioned, which he closed and converted into this outpost of Horn Barbecue. In recent months the restaurant appears to have operated only intermittently: the Chronicle noted a run of Google and Yelp reviews between January and August from diners who arrived during posted hours to find the doors locked or the menu sold out. The newsletter Berkeley Eats flagged a suspected closure on Aug. 6.

It is the fourth Horn restaurant to close in roughly seven months, following shutdowns of the Lafayette and Elk Grove locations earlier this year, per the Chronicle — a steep retreat for an operation that grew from a 2020-era Oakland pop-up into a nationally known name with multiple rooms, cookbooks and retail products.

The Chronicle reported that the company also acknowledged payroll problems, saying delays "created financial challenges" and that it was "actively working to resolve outstanding payments." The Chronicle said it asked Scott for the restaurant's last day, lease length and rent status but did not hear back by publication.