The staff of Threes Above High, including owner Scott Ellsworth (bottom center), at Buckeye Donuts in 2018. Credit: Courtesy of Jimmy Barouxis
For businesses residing on High Street, each establishment faces fierce competition.
Scott Ellsworth and Jimmy Barouxis both took ownership of their university district businesses in 2007. When they met, their relationship was purely transactional. Now, after two decades of working alongside one another, they consider themselves brothers.?
Ellsworth owns the series of number bars along High Street — consisting of the soon-to-be revived Twos Under High, Threes Above High, Fours on High and Fives Up High. Barouxis owns Buckeye Donuts.
“With [Barouxis] and me, the business came first,” Ellsworth said in an Instagram direct message. “We were two guys figuring it out at the same time. Long nights, big decisions, constant pressure. Somewhere along the way, that turned into real friendship.”?
In the two decades of his Buckeye Donuts ownership, Barouxis said Ellsworth has become his closest friend.?
“We’re always somehow crossing paths unintentionally,” Barouxis said. “It just kind of happened.”
Ellsworth reflected on the evolution of the business relationships between High Street establishments.?
“When I bought Too’s 19 years ago, High Street wasn’t exactly a group hug,” Ellsworth said. “Over time, that changed. And I’m proud of that. I’m close with a lot of the bar owners now. But it’s bigger than that. Buckeye Donuts. Playa Bowls. Dirty Franks. Different parts of the industry, different vibes, but same grind. We’re all part of the same ecosystem. If one of us levels up, the street levels up.”?
Barouxis echoed that same admiration for his fellow local businesses.
“I can’t even describe how much High Street has changed,” Barouxis said. “But change is inevitable. I don’t want to say it’s better or worse. Campus had more flavor 20 years ago, more flavor than it does now, but it’s not bad. There’s still some hope. You got places like Threes. You got Dirty Frank’s up there. You still got some noise.”?
Quinn Allen, owner of The Library Bar and The Thirsty Scholar, also reflected on the changes he has seen on High Street over the years.?
“It’s inevitable that we’re going to see turnover with our customer basis,” Allen said. “We get this rapid reset all the time, and the only thing that stays consistent for us is our network of bar owners, because we’re the ones seeing all the way through it.”?
In witnessing these changes through the same lens, local owners have grown closer and more dependent on one another to stay afloat — both in business practices and keeping each other company.?
Ellsworth said Barouxis’s family has been on High Street longer than either of them have been alive, but they both stepped into running their businesses around 2007.
“Same era. Same pressure. Same learning curve. We’re wired similarly. We’ll sit there and complain like two old guys about staffing, the city, weather, you name it,” Ellsworth said. “Sounds miserable, but we’re laughing the whole time. Because if you don’t laugh at this business, it’ll chew you up. There’s something powerful about having someone who understands the weight without you having to explain it.”?
When it came to the friendship between Buckeye Donuts and Threes, Barouxis said Ellsworth made the first move. The pair began conversing in 2015 during the rise of their social media accounts, on which they would share posts featuring each other’s businesses.?
“Business friendships — there’s a level of comfort,” Barouxis said. “You’re more familiar with each other, and you’re more willing to go the extra mile for that person. It’s very important to have good neighbors. In our case, we have some great neighbors.”?
Allen also spoke about the rise of business friendships in the age of social media.?
“We’re always sharing each other’s posts whenever somebody has a mishap,” Allen said. “Let’s say something happens at somebody’s bar, and then we’re trying to track somebody down. It’s so quick to act as a network where we all share that post, that person ends up getting found, caught [and] held accountable within minutes. Campus cooperates so well with us because everybody’s looking out for us.”?
In November, a customer at Three’s vandalized its bathroom. The bar took to Instagram to share what happened and bars like Library, The Little Bar and Out-r-Inn commented their disbelief and support, per prior Lantern reporting.
Long-term, High Street business owners each said they will continue to support each other.
“A street where owners are at each other’s throats — that’s short-term thinking,” Ellsworth said. “A street where owners communicate, collaborate, and actually want each other to win? That’s sustainable. There’s probably no other campus in the country where every major owner is in the same group chat. If someone needs help, it’s there. If something’s going sideways, we talk about it. If we want to build something bigger than ourselves, we coordinate.”?
Allen agreed.?
“A friendship is someone who’s kind of in your corner all the time, no matter what — a ride or die, and you’re always looking out for the benefit of the people around you,” Allen said. “I think that it’s just incredible when we get to focus on building the relationships with our staff and building the relationships with the community on campus.”?
At their cores, high street business owners work not only for their own businesses, but for one another.?
“They know if they need something, they can come in and get it,” Barouxis said. “They can ask for help. Or if they need anything, their employees will stop in. They know us. They know where we are. They know who we are.”?
