Jeff Ruby in 140 Characters

Local steakhouse owner making friends and enemies on Twitter

Jeff Ruby in 140 Characters

Jeff Ruby, known for his top-notch restaurants, is making a name for himself on Twitter. The 65-year-old local celebrity and restaurant owner is constantly tweeting about anything and everything the world has to offer. He has more than 17,000 followers, and many of them are high school students who refer to him as “Mr. Ruby” and “Uncle Jeff”. Ruby refers to many of them as “son”. Ruby likes to talk to his followers. He tweets at anyone who has recently followed him. A few weeks ago, he tweeted at Sam Coffaro, a junior.

@coffee_black5 hey Sam — Jeff Ruby (@TheRealJeffRuby) January 14, 2014

@TheRealJeffRuby hey Jeff what’s up bro? — Sam Coffaro (@coffee_black5) January 15, 2014

@TheRealJeffRuby what did u have for dinner ? — Sam Coffaro (@coffee_black5) January 15, 2014

@coffee_black5 the deadliest catch — Jeff Ruby (@TheRealJeffRuby) January 15, 2014

He also likes to attend local high school games. Ruby seems to like the GCL South more than other schools because the students from these schools-including Elder-tweet at him, asking him to come to their game. If you’re ever at a St. X game, just look for him. He’s usually wearing an American flag jacket and a white beret. He came to the basketball game at Oak Hills and instantly received an assortment of boos and cheers from the cheering section. One of the more interesting things about him is his involvement with Greater Cincinnati athletes. He has posted pictures of his conversations with Brandon Phillips, Domata Peko, and Moeller senior Gus Ragland. He even took LaSalle senior Derek Kief to the Sugar Bowl because Kief’s future team, Alabama, was playing against Oklahoma.

My son @Griffey_DaKid and @DKief10 on Bourbon st. 2 great kids. pic.twitter.com/zcIHoGVX5B — Jeff Ruby (@TheRealJeffRuby) January 2, 2014

The outspoken steak expert has developed an even bigger fanbase with his Twitter account. His tweets are also spawning dislike among Elder students, mostly for his presumed love of St. X and their students. Mike Dirksing, a freshman, has a different reason not to like Ruby. Dirksing found a grammatical error in one of the local celebrity’s tweets, calling him out for the improper use of the word “their” in a tweet. Ruby, unlike many other famous Twitter users who do not acknowledge their naysayers, decided to respond to Mike, telling him to unfollow him and that Twitter is not “grammar school”. Dirksing stayed calm in this conversation, simply stating that Ruby was wrong in his grammar. Ruby relied on the support of his followers and eventually blocked him.

Jeff Ruby has shown Cincinnati that he is much more than a businessman. Ruby uses his account to reach out to his customers, as well as to promote himself and his business. He often tweets about his new book and his restaurants. With his account, he gives his followers an inside look at his daily life.