The landlord of the Old Town Elk Grove restaurant at 9700 Railroad Street has yanked the keys back and put the high-profile space on the market again after Horn Barbecue fell behind on rent and the site reverted to its owner. The broker now marketing the property says the landlord is in no rush, looking to "find the right fit" rather than fill it fast. The 6,500-square-foot building, which briefly housed Slow & Low before Horn moved in, is being pitched as a full-service restaurant shell with room to grow.
Landlord will vet candidates, expects a slow search
Scott Kingston, the Turton Commercial broker handling the listing, told The Sacramento Bee that D&S Development has formally taken back possession of the site and is targeting an experienced restaurateur for the location. According to Kingston, the owner is focused on landing a stable, long-term operator, and the screening process could stretch on for months. Those comments follow earlier signs - including new signage - that the property had quietly shifted back to the landlord earlier this winter.
The space on offer
Commercial records list the building at 9700 Railroad St. at roughly 6,500 square feet on about 1.09 acres, making it one of Old Town’s larger restaurant shells, according to LoopNet. The footprint allows for a full bar and a performance or event area, amenities that previous operators leaned on to draw crowds. Brokers say those same features make the location appealing, but they also raise the stakes, favoring operators with deeper capital and proven experience.
Chainwide troubles put a spotlight on operations
Horn Barbecue’s fast expansion has not exactly been smooth. The brand opened in Elk Grove in 2025 while simultaneously dealing with legal and operational turbulence elsewhere, including an eviction at its Lafayette location and a series of wage and vendor claims, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Those controversies, along with Slow & Low’s short tenure before Horn arrived, help explain why the landlord now appears to be leaning toward a lower-risk tenant. Local restaurant developers say that after public disputes, landlords often look harder at an operator’s payroll history and back-office discipline.
Legal and financial context
The site’s prior operator, Michael Hargis, has been caught up in separate litigation tied to a taxpayer-backed $500,000 loan connected to Slow & Low that went into default, with the city seeking to recover roughly $425,000 to $442,000, according to local reporting. Elk Grove News, citing the Sacramento Business Journal, reported that the city filed suit to foreclose on collateral pledged for that loan. Those court actions added another layer of complication to the building’s early run under Slow & Low’s operators.
What’s next for Old Town Elk Grove
D&S Development and Kingston say they will take applications and prioritize operators who can safely and consistently run a busy bar and kitchen, the landlord’s representative told The Sacramento Bee. Horn’s team, for its part, has said it is weighing other Sacramento-area locations and has separately opened a new Horn Barbecue in Fresno on Jan. 20, 2026, according to local coverage; Yahoo reported long lines at the new outpost. For now, the Elk Grove space sits vacant while brokers look for a tenant willing and able to commit for the long haul.
Kingston has signaled this will be a deliberate process, saying the owner would prefer to wait for a well-matched operator rather than rush into a new lease. That patience leaves the high-visibility Old Town address open to a wide range of possibilities, from another marquee pitmaster to a locally rooted full-service restaurant that can prove it is built to last.
