City manager updates the Slow and Low, Horn Barbecue Elk Grove taxpayer-guaranteed loan situation

Now permanently closed after only six months, Old Town Elk Grove's Slow and Low
restaurant will reopen with a renowned Bay Area operator in the coming weeks. | 

During the January 8, 2025, Elk Grove City Council meeting, the city manager provided a brief update on the collapse of Old Town Elk Grove's Slow and Low restaurant.

The establishment opened with substantial media hype in mid-2024 by the city of Elk Grove's economic development director and elected officials. To open the facility, the owner of Slow and Low, Michael Hargis, was provided a $500,000 taxpayer-guaranteed loan.

Since that ballyhooed opening, the establishment faltered, succumbing to poor reviews, and closed on December 31, 2024. The restaurant will now be operated by noted Bay Area restauranteur Matthew Horn of Horn Barbecue.

Noting the $500,000 taxpayer-backed loan guarantee from River City Bank, Behrmann said the loan is secured by restaurant fixtures and improvements to the facility on Railroad Street in Old Town-Historic Downtown Elk Grove. 

When the loan guarantee was extended to Hargis in June 2023, it was also collateralized by Hargis's parcel at 7001 Garden Highway. During last night's meeting, Berhmann did not specify what collateral secured the loan other than saying the loan remained "active."

Behrmann noted that most of the $500,000 loan was used for improvements to the restaurant, suggesting that it was now the collateral.

In a follow-up email, Berhman said, "There has been no change to the loan. It remains in place under the same terms, names and collateral."

See Behrmann's commentary in the video.    



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