Early morning bars for the third shift crowd

Photo Credit: CC BY 2.0 from Beer by BART

The money has been counted, floors swept, candles blown out and, with that, my coworkers and I exchange a look and nod in unison. It’s 12:30 am and no words are necessary, we all know where we’re headed. 

After a few years in the service industry, there are few things I understand more than a well-deserved drink after a hard days work. So after a number of requests for a list of “third shift” bars, we decided to look into options for early-morning, uhm, night caps?.

The Ruckmoor Pub

At first glance, it appears there were once a good deal of options for 24-hour and early morning bars around Columbus. Many have since closed or reduced their hours. One that remains as a beacon of hope for third-shifters is the Ruckmoor Pub, a cash only bar open from 5:30am-2:30am Monday through Saturday. Drink Up Columbus posted a review of the Ruckmoor Pub for the Dive In series back in 2013 and from what we can tell, not much has changed. We’re hearing reviews of a classic dive bar: good prices, strong drinks, fun games, drunk patrons. Sign me up. The RuckMoor Pub is located at 7469 High St.

Front Row Sports Bar

Another early morning option is Front Row Sports Bar. Open 7am-2:30am Monday through Saturday, it sounds like Front Row is another standard dive bar. If you’re looking for a dark, relatively quiet (though I’d guess most bars are quite at 7am) place to drink with some solid Juke Box options — and sports paraphernalia of course — Front Row might be right up your alley. Front Row Sports Bar is on 2170 W Henderson Road.

Hounddog’s Pizza

When I came to Columbus, one of the first places I was told to go was Houddog’s pizza in the wee hours of early morning, just for the experience. “There’s nothing else like it,” I was told, so I was a little saddened to learn they were no longer open 24-hours. Their abbreviated hours of 9am-3:30am are still quite expansive though. Hounddog’s might not be open early enough for everyone getting off around sun rise, but it’s open earlier than most and probably smells like pizza. When I called to double check that they are in fact open at 9am, the bartender on staff told me they serve beer at that time but no hard liquor. Hounddog’s Pizza is located at 2657 N High St.

Ethyl & Tank

Ethyl & Tank, on the other hand, was quick to let me know the bartender working the coffee bar at 8am could and would, in fact, serve me alcohol. So if coffee and alcohol, or alcohol IN your coffee, is what you’re looking for, Ethyl & Tank can deliver. Nestled next to Ohio State’s student union, I’m going to venture that you need not worry about fighting off too many students grabbing a drink on the way to 8am class. Ethyl offers a brighter atmosphere than some of the previously mentioned bars, so I’ll leave that up to you to when deciding on pros and cons. Ethyl & Tank is located at 19 E 13th Ave.

Know of other third shift bars in Columbus? Let us know in the comments!