Shanks Bakery and Boba — Restaurant in Chillicothe

This review got a bit longer than I expected. So if you are not the type for a long read, in short: Don’t miss out. You have to give High Five Cakes, Bakery & Tea House a visit.

I do not work for High Five, neither do any of my family members, nor am I paid by anyone. I am a local to the area and long time customer. I keep coming back for the reasons below.

Whether you are a local to the area, or just stopping through, you cannot pass by High Five without getting some treats. There is something for any picky eater, traditionalist, or someone who wants to try something completely new. Every item you purchase is a work of art, but tastes like a piece of heaven. The staff there are extremely kind, polite, and somehow act like they are having a blast even when the store is a busy maelstrom of chaos.

When they decided to open their store in downtown Chillicothe, we were nervous. Would quality suffer? What would this mean for our family tradition of getting their cakes for birthdays and special occassions? Ha! Little did we know a new family tradition would emerge.

The bakery is centered basically in the “heart” of Chillicothe’s charming downtown, where families can make a day of visiting. There are all kinds of cool boutiques (my fav is The History Store), candy store (Grandpa Joe’s!), ice cream shop (Highland’s), and numerous amazing local eateries that I am so thrilled to see emerge in the downtown district. High Five is the kind of place that helps grow a community. More than once we have made plans to just stop by the bakery to pick up a few things on a Saturday, and end up spending half the day downtown visiting the different shops because there are so many neat things to do.

The Bakery itself is cozy without being cramped, and stylish without being pretentious. There are large display cases that show all the yummy treats for the day, and the staff are always happy to explain an item if you’ve never had one before. This happens a lot, in my case. There is even a small Kids Nook with toys for the little ones. So you can relax a bit, eat your treat(s) and drink some bubble tea while they play. Maybe even chat a bit with the workers/owners if they aren’t busy (rare, but it happens). I recall one time I was chatting awhile with one of the owners’ spouses who made the mistake of opening up the store before they were ready and got drafted into working a partial shift as a consequence.

So the treats! It is hard to even know where to begin. Each visit is like coming in for the first time. Every time I’m like a little kid, almost running to see what is in the display case and reminding myself to not press my face against the glass. I never have to worry that there won’t be anything I like. Nearly every time I visit I can get my oatmeal cream pie and/or nutter betters. But there are so many new things to try each day that I can’t resist trying one of the new cupcakes or cheesecakes. Nothing at High Five is mediocre.

Like my oatmeal cream pies above, they often take a “baked good” you might find in a plastic wrapper at a local gas station, and somehow completely reinvent and elevate it into a fancy gourmet item that you would never expect to find in small town Chillicothe, Ohio. If there is a theme to High Five, that would be it. Reinvention and elevation to maximum potential.

To wrap it all up: High Five is a family staple. If we go too long without a visit, our kids start begging for a trip there. It is the type of place we are lucky to have locally, and we absolutely need to support so that we can continue to have good things. Give...

The managers do not care to teach the staff how to make good tapioca boba. I've eaten sheep eyeballs that were chewier. You can't call it chewy if it doesn't chew. Each boba ball loses shape and worse yet has an awful gritty texture that just turns to sand in your cup and you can't drink it. It's like liquid drywall. Sweet or not. The staff are not at fault. The managers apparently own the "rainbow boba " in town as well and it is JUST AS BAD about the boba if not WORSE.

THEY HAVE A BUNCH OF FLAVORS BUT NO COMMON SENSE.

They may as well not serve it.

If you have a sweet tooth, the snacks are a bit decadent but nice.

IF YOU MANAGERS READ THIS. GO TO MILK JAR IN CINCI. COPY HOW THEY DO IT. There's not really an excuse. You charge 8 DOLLARS FOR A SMALL. You gotta TRY to make it THIS BAD. And it has been a YEAR OR MORE of steady decline in quality of the only boba shops in town.

I ALWAYS BUY IT EVERY TIME I'M IN TOWN BECAUSE I WANT THESE KIDS TO BE OKAY AND HAVE JOBS. I SPENT OVER $100 IN THE LAST YEAR AND IT JUST RUINS MY DAY. EVERY. TIME. I bit my tongue for over a year.

I bought some today and I'm...

I had just finished a doctor's appointment and stopped for breakfast across the street. When I was headed back to Athens, Shank's had just opened for the day so I figured I'd stop in because I love Boba tea. I walked out of there with 2 dozen of the best macaroni I've had in the 4 states I've lived in, a fudge round that was just as good as Little Debbie, and a Nutter Better that was absolutely incredible. There was no one else there so I didn't feel rushed, either. The woman who helped me was very nice and patient. I had a Thai Boba tea with lychee bursting pearls. Not tons of flavor, but honestly that's hard to master in the U.S. outside of major cities with a real Taiwanese population, so it didn't bother me. I would definitely go back! Everyone I shared my macarons with...