Conversion into today’s dive bar-friendly footprint was no simple task, the bar itself built around the already-installed walk-in cooler that today houses the dive bar’s beer stash. As the Ruby Tuesday Live web site details, a repurposed safe from the Franklin County Treasurer was converted to use as the Ruby Tuesday Live liquor safe. Just before opening, a friend of the owners created the stained-glass piece that can be seen behind the bar area, inscribed with the name of the bar, as well as the lamp that still hangs above the counter inscribed similarly. The historical building and the custom touches converged to create something unique, a vibe that has carried into today’s warm, inviting, eclectic look.
Ruby Tuesday Live sits on a small hill a few steps up from street level, creating a front patio area that makes for good campus-area people watching. This terraced outdoor area has seen some renovation over the years, the space now enclosed by an iron fence that encircle a handful of picnic tables. A red awning tops off the patio area, playing off of green iron in the windows above and a handful of signs proclaiming some of the many specials offered inside.
Inside, a very dive bar-friendly brown hue colors most of the surfaces inside, the floor a deep brown and wood paneling extending up to the ceiling. Even the ceiling tiles play into the aesthetic, a patchwork of brown and white tiles resting overhead. The front room features a pair of pool tables that can make for cramped proceedings on crowded evenings, rows of stools nestled around the outside of the room to offer a bit of overflow seating. Every inch of wall space is covered here, often in signage best classified as ‘dive bar wisdom’ in addition to sports jerseys, signs about food and drink specials, a fair amount of TVs and the odd bar light here and there.
The walk-in cooler slash beer fridge sits in the back corner of the front room, the bar itself a curved, winding area almost hidden by the size of the space. The original stain glass piece once displayed outside can be found here in addition to a pair of antlers, a few bells rung for various drinking-related occasions and the door to the walk-in cooler that looks like it was carved from mahogany but is probably just nicely aged and well-stained. The aforementioned stained glass lamp hangs over head, the bar area holding enough space for only a small handful of people to cram around the bar as Ruby Tuesday Live is more of a “find something else to do here” kind of bar rather than a “sit out the counter for six hours” type of space.
