Our Story

Adam and Becky

Who are we and why the heck would a brother and sister want to open a restaurant together?

First things first: We LOVE food. We love learning about it, love shopping for it, love talking about it, love cooking it, love playing with it, and most importantly, we love eating it! Both of us have always had a passion for all things culinary — it’s in our DNA. As youngsters, when most kids were at the mall or playing video games, we were having a blast in the kitchen on a quest to make the most perfect chocolate chip cookie.

We were extremely lucky to have grown up in a very close-knit and food loving family. Our mom, Shirli, was a professional caterer in Dallas and therefore spent most of her time in our kitchen. From a young age we were exposed to a diversity of gourmet and ethnic foods from all over the world which made our palates mature beyond our years. A kid who loved frog legs, herring and raw oysters isn’t easy to find! Even though our lives were busy with soccer games, guitar lessons, and all of the other stresses of today’s lives, our parent’s made it a point to have us all share a family meal every evening. The power of sharing a delicious meal with family and friends is often overlooked in this very busy world we live in. With RIPE Eatery, we truly wanted to give everyone the same opportunity to take the time to enjoy a good meal with those you care about.

Adam Lampinstein

It has been a long and often winding road that has taken me to the place where I find myself today. The journey began in Dallas where I was born and raised. After graduating high school I ventured off to college at the University of Kansas to study Journalism and Advertising. After graduation in 2001, I found myself back in Dallas with a job at a very successful advertising agency where I worked for a number of years when one day it hit me—this job just wasn’t my calling in life!

What I really loved was great food- but could my dream of owning my own restaurant ever become a reality? Was I nuts to leave a good job with security, a 401(k) plan and health insurance to work tucked inside a kitchen all day chopping onions? I figured that studying at culinary school would answer that question so that’s where I headed. A move to Austin, Texas, classes at the Texas Culinary Academy, working at several well known restaurants as well as private catering kept me busy but I loved every minute of it. After several years in Austin I knew that the time was “ripe” and I took the leap and moved west to El Paso for this next step in my journey. I look forward to making you and your friends and family part of this wonderful world of mine.

Becky Atkins

I am the younger sister and the boss of this operation. I graduated from the University of Texas Business School in Austin, where I learned very quickly what it meant to work hard and crunch numbers in my sleep. I have always had the entrepreneurial spirit and was born with cookie batter in my blood- so the obvious goal was to open a fantastically successful restaurant. After college I worked for Gina’s Catering in Portland, Oregon to “perfect” my knife skills. My husband received orders to be stationed at Fort Bliss, so we were off to find a new life in the great city of El Paso. I quickly fell in love with the warm community and beautiful mountains. I convinced my brother Chef Adam to take a chance on a dream and move out here with me to create the perfect restaurant, and the rest is history. Please come enjoy the dream; we look forward to having you at our table.