The Ruckmoor almost defies explanation, maybe the warmest, coziest dive bar in Columbus that on the outside looks like the “after” photo of an Irish pub that took on a series of ill-fated expansions. A vaguely British shield and entirely British lettering sits emblazoned on the Ruckmoor sign that sits on a busy road part of a massive highway exchange loop that has seemingly been under some sort of construction since 1885.
That a dive bar this pure can live in such a transitory place is a testament to the power of cheap drinks and dim lighting. You know this kind of location, an outcropping of hotels, chain restaurants and maybe a movie theater that grows like a barnacle on the side of some highway. It’s the type of place you’d find an Applebee’s, a Courtyard and a handful of gas stations. Along Columbus’ 270 loop, you can also find the Ruckmoor, a cash-only hovel of a bar sandwiched between a Mexican restaurant (for now) and a Motel 6 that might be in the conversation for best dive bar in Columbus.
The sign starts everything with a blazingly good omen that the Ruckmoor’s hours are illuminated and read “Open 5:30am to 2:30am.” Now I’ve never seen the inside of the Ruckmoor quite that early in the morning, but it wouldn’t be surprising to learn that a handful of regulars get off their overnight shifts and wait for the door to open. That’s the kind of bar this is, a rotating cast of loyal patrons that may very well have started coming when the bar opened its doors, as the sign again says, back in 1958.