All Signs Point to High (Pt. 2) - Keep Calm, Eat Donuts, and Have Pun

Part 2 of our trip up High Street (Part 1 can be accessed at this link) gets us to the campus area, where the march of progress has transformed this once character-laden section of street with generic suburban-styled functionality. However, one of the few holdouts is thankfully both an institution with both students and locals alike in Buckeye Donuts, which turns 50 years old this year. Jimmy Barouxis' shop of sweet and savory treats, open 24/7 for your dining pleasure, looks to be around (cross fingers) for at least fifty more years.

All Signs Point to High (Pt. 1) - Diners, Drive-Ins and Drives

This photo of the neon Dairy Queen sign on the north end of the metro's
High Street inspired me to take a little road trip

Growing up, Dairy Queen has never been one of my favorite fast food joints - in fact, I always like to joke that the worst burgers I ever had were from a DQ (they were so bad, it made me crave the elementary school cafeteria burgers with the "Hot 'N Tasty" adorned foil wrappers.) However, an old-school neon sign can induce anyone to warm up to a place, and the one that adorns the front of Worthington's location (the building itself dates back to 1955) certainly does the trick.

When I posted a picture of the sign, I asked folks if they could remember other memorable signs along this main thoroughfare of Columbus. A few folks chimed in, and I was a bit flummoxed that I couldn't think of many more than I did during my post. I really haven't stopped thinking about it since, so on a recent slow, nothing-better-to-do day, I drove the roughly 16-mile-stretch of north-south aligned High Street from one end of the I-270 Beltway to the other to see what I could find.

Donuts and Development: Buckeye Donuts

The snapshot of the ongoing redevelopment of High Street next to
Ohio State University from earlier this summer

As you may have noticed, the students at Ohio State University are back. What had been a slow drip earlier in the month became a full cascade of youngsters last weekend, as almost all university freshmen and sophomores (who, with rare exception, are required to live on campus with recently enacted university policies) arrived into town to move into their new living quarters.

What some of those newcomers may not realize is that the High Street corridor that abuts the campus has been undergoing an ongoing longer transformation to "promote a vibrant, mixed use environment within a multi-block district centered at 15th Avenue and High Street", according to Campus Partners, an organization created by The Ohio State University in 1995 to "spearhead the revitalization of the urban neighborhoods around its Columbus campus."

Admirable goals, for certain.  But to this observer, the glossy sheen of new storefronts and chain-rich storefronts and luxury apartments to come has sucked and will continue to suck the distinctive character of the area to close to nil.

Ice Cream Chronicles (Year 5): Be Aware of Greeks Bearing Sweets

Opened in 1851, the downtown Savannah located Marshall House served as one
of the city's destination hotels until its closure in 1957. An extensive restoration
in 1999 brought the building back to its glory and original purpose as a hotel.

Columbus Ohio area residents know full well what kind of sweet treats Greeks can create. Emigrating from Greece, the Barouxis family started Jolly Roger Donuts in 1969. Now known as Buckeye Donuts, current owner Jimmy Jr. and his staff conjure up breakfast sandwiches, gyros, and those trademark decadent dough rings for the public 24/7, and their gala 50th anniversary really isn't too far away now.

Columbus residents traveling down to Savannah should be aware of another Greek-owned institution selling delicious sweet treats.  In this case, this local gem, Leopold's Ice Cream, is less than one year removed from celebrating a century's worth of providing tasty frozen confections for local residents and visitors alike.