Buckeye Donuts on High Street was voted best Late-Night Eats. Credit: Christian Harsa | Asst. Photo Editor
This story has been updated for the BuckeyeBound edition.
Despite facing several challenges from the pandemic and two armed robberies in the past year, Buckeye Donuts owner Jimmy Barouxis said he’s only looking forward with a positive attitude.
The beloved 24-hour donut shop on North High Street was robbed at gunpoint in July 2020 and again in February. However, Barouxis and his employees said the love and support from the community motivates them to keep going.
“I think we’re through the hardest part, and we’re about to make it to the other side,” Barouxis said. “You gotta keep going. You know there’s a light at the other side so that’s where we’re going.”
Buckeye Donuts is one of the oldest shops on North High Street, entering its 51st year in business, Barouxis said. Located at 1998 N. High St., Buckeye Donuts aims to provide customers and Ohio State students with an inexpensive, welcoming, warm and comforting environment.
Although the menu features hot breakfast sandwiches, gyros and sides like jalapeno poppers, onion rings, veggie samosas and hummus, it’s no secret that the donuts — especially the Buckeye Donut, a peanut butter and chocolate staple — are coveted treats.
RaNajha Maye, a second-year in social work and Columbus local, said she’s been going to Buckeye Donuts regularly for about three years. She said their commitment to staying open 24 hours a day, serving the community and the conversations she’s had with the employees fueled her continued support during the pandemic and the robberies.
“The staff is really nice, and they make you feel like they’re taking care of you,” Maye said. “I personally haven’t had a bad experience.”
Connor Davis, an employee and 2020 Ohio State graduate, said there was a surprising amount of support from the local community and other people all over the state in the aftermath of each robbery.
“We’ve been busier after the robberies just because we’re on people’s minds,” Davis said. “There’s been bounties offered for the perpetrators and just people coming in and expressing their gratitude for what Buckeye Donuts does for the community.”
After the first robbery, Barouxis said there was a small bump in business over the summer, which is expected whenever they’re featured on the news. However, he said the second robbery brought in so much business that they were busy nonstop for three days, and he didn’t really have time to reflect on or process what happened.
“We had people coming out of the woodwork that we hadn’t seen in years,” Barouxis said. “A lot of alumni came to see how we were doing to make sure we were OK.”
The robberies seemed to bring in additional support from Ohio State students as well, Davis said. Maye, who is also a driver for Grubhub and DoorDash, said she saw an increase in Buckeye Donuts orders from students on and around campus.
Barouxis said the past year is water under the bridge now that Buckeye Donuts has recovered from the chaos — they are moving forward on a daily basis and trying to maintain normalcy.
“The student body is very conscientious,” Barouxis said. “Just the students coming here and being customers is all the support we needed, morally, financially and spiritually. It really helped us. Thank you, and we love you.”
