High Five Cakes

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 them a visit!

A huge shout out and thank you to Sarah Myers and team at High Five Cakes for saving the day by making my niece’s cake and cupcakes for her wedding when the bakery she had in Dayton closed unexpectedly due to Covid-19 less than 2 months before her wedding. They were both beautiful and wonderfully delicious!!! I am grateful for your compassion and willingness to help in a pinch! Just one of the many things I love about living in a small town.

We've been in this establishment more than once. Everytime we are around this area we try to stop by. Everything we tried so far are awesome. Drinks, cupcakes, cheesecake, cookies & macaroons. The crew are also pleasant & very helpful. The only thing is some Mondays we stopped in they were closed. Check store hours or call ahead of time. Otherwise around this area it is the best cupcake shop! They also sell homemade bar soaps & keepsake♟🏆🍰🎂🍪🥤

I love the vibe (and the food!) this place has. Very original looks and flavors of treats to try and the owners and staff are incredibly nice!

I just discovered this place a week ago and was so surprised they have bubble tea. It was delicious! The pastries are incredible and almost too beautiful to eat. Great job to all the ladies working here. You are all awesome!

It was a really nice shop with lovely people and great treats

Free pretzel Tuesday! Ben's Chilli was really good and the homemade oatmeal caramel pies. Very yummy!!

One of my favorite places to get sweets in Chillicothe!
They have bubble tea, macaroons, cupcakes, cakes and more! Their store is beautiful and the cakes are delicious.

Wonderful, wonderful! We booked an afternoon tea for six. Sandwiches - cream cheese and cucumber, egg salad, cheese and onion, and a ham and cheese roll up with dill. Sweets - Petit fours, mini cupcakes, and macarons. Scones with imported clotted cream, homemade lemon curd, and strawberry jam. We chose Earl Grey and Black Currant teas. Everything was excellent, but the star of the show was the scones. The staff is friendly and very helpful. An attractive, eclectic mix of antiques and artwork kept us looking around and talking. It was a fabulous experience which we intend to repeat.

Stopped here because of their boba tea and got some really yummy nutter butter style cookies! We were passing through from vacation out east and were happy to find a boba tea place!