Railroad Street Blues - Restaurant Troubles Continue For Elk Grove's Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen's 'Gaslamp Quarter'

The operational woes of a restaurant are not typically news events. After all, restaurant failure is an ongoing business condition.

But there are exceptions, like when a national chain faces substantial disruptions, or when an establishment becomes a keystone in a municipal development initiative.

That is the case with the City of Elk Grove's tourism initiative on Railroad Street in Old Town-Historic Downtown Elk Grove. The establishment in question is Horn Barbeque on Railroad Street.

Starting last weekend, we started receiving information from readers that the City of Elk Grove's ballyhooed restaurant was temporarily closed. As the week progressed, the closing continued, and comments on social media platforms grew so much that the Sacramento Business Journal reported yesterday that the business, which opened about 9 months ago, would operate only on weekends.

For those familiar, Horn Barbeque took over the space that Slow and Low occupied. That establishment, which went out of business by December 2024 after opening in May of that year, defaulted on an Elk Grove taxpayer-guaranteed $425,000 loan.

We will report on that matter in a separate story. Suffice it to say that Elk Grove taxpayers' money is not close to being recovered, as Elk Grove's Economic Development Director Darrell Doan promised when he was promoting the taxpayer loan guarantee.

The importance of this story is that the structure Horn occupied was a keystone development financially supported by the City of Elk Grove and led by Mr. Doan. The Railroad Street development is a cornerstone of Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen's ongoing initiative to transform Old Town Elk Grove into a major national tourist attraction on par with San Diego's famed Gaslamp Quarter.

Now we don't wish any ill will toward the Horn establishment, as they are like any other Elk Grove restaurant struggling to survive amid escalating costs and beef scarcity. Unlike Slow and Low, however, it has not knowingly received taxpayer financial support.

In reality, how can a restaurant of that physical size, with high operating costs like rent, generate enough revenue by operating only two or three days a week? It is not like they have a cult-like following.  

Regardless of Horn's future, the news value of this story is in the City of Elk Grove's involvement and the neglect of more pressing issues facing residents. Is Mayor Singh-Allen's Railroad Street, and more generally, her wish to transform Elk Grove into a tourist destination, flawed and delusional?   

Singh-Allen and Doan will rightfully point to the success of Horn's neighbor, the Dustbowl Brewery. The success of that business has not been cost-free, though.

After Dustbowl opened, three nearby breweries-taverns, two of which were less than a half-mile away at the same Elk Grove Boulevard location, went out of business. One step forward, three steps back.

Furthermore, while Dustbowl is experiencing success, seismic demographic trends are confronting them and similar businesses, with significant effects nationally. The popularity of brew pubs has been waning in the post-COVID era, with more closing in 2025 than opening, amidst declining consumption.  

Additionally, Millennials and Gen Z, crucial demographic groups for brew pubs and the alcohol industry in general, are consuming fewer alcoholic beverages across the board.

It is time for the Mayor and her four city council accolades to set aside their delusional plans to transform Elk Grove into a tourist destination. Sure, make Old Town a nice place, but get a grip on reality - Elk Grove will not be a significant tourist destination.

The Mayor and city council's focus should be on the real issues confronting Elk Grove, such as the steadily growing traffic congestion and the dearth of affordable housing units for young families to purchase and begin building intergenerational wealth.

Unfortunately, to keep his job long enough to collect his fat taxpayer-funded CALPERS pension, Mr. Doan will develop more plans at the behest of Mayor Singh-Allen and her four city council potted-plant-bobbleheads.

What is good for the Mayor's political future, unfortunately, does not align with the community's needs.

Remember this when a young family wants to find a starter house in Elk Grove, or when you are sitting in traffic congestion or trapped by a stopped train at a rail crossing in Old Elk Grove.  

Call it the Railroad Street Blues!