After more than a decade as a Henderson Avenue staple, High Fives, located at 1804 McMillan Ave., will close its doors in early January. The exact final day is still in flux, tied closely to the January game schedule of the Texas Tech Red Raiders, a fitting sendoff for a bar so deeply connected to its fan base.
Owner Phil Schanbaum says the goodbye is rooted in gratitude. High Fives, he notes, was always about community—neighbors, Red Raider loyalists, and regulars who turned a sports bar into a second home. He credits the staff in particular, calling them the heart of the place and the reason it became what it was.
High Fives opened in mid-2015 as part of This & That Hospitality, the group Schanbaum co-founded with Brandon Hays. It sat next door to sibling bar The Whippersnapper, which was rebranded as Boogies in October 2025. Together, the concepts helped define a lively stretch of Henderson Avenue during a period of growth for the neighborhood.
What comes next for the space remains undecided, but Schanbaum sees the closure as part of a larger shift. The property is owned by Acadia Realty, which, alongside Dallas-based Ignite-Rebees, is developing a large mixed-use project along Henderson between Glencoe Street and McMillan Avenue. The goal is to transform the area into a more walkable corridor with new restaurants, retail, and office space.
The final chapter for High Fives will be written on game days. The next Texas Tech game is January 1, with doors opening at 10 a.m. If the Red Raiders advance, the bar will stay open for subsequent games until their season ends. Until then, December hours are Thursdays and Fridays from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., and Saturdays from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m.—one last run for a bar that thrived on rivalry, loyalty, and raised hands.
