Fresh food comes to downtown Eclectic

It doesn’t take long to realize Little Rippy’s Fresh and Tasty is a little different.

The eatery and gift shop is behind two roll-up garage doors and porch right in downtown Eclectic serving up fresh food with love. The menu is simple with salads, sandwiches and paninis. There is a gift shop complete with trinkets, wreaths and books for Bible devotionals. Freshly constructed, it is another vision come to life for Marie Rippy, owner of Original Grace Boutique (OGB).  

“We just want to love on everyone,” Rippy said. “We wanted a place where people could come sit down and talk and get fresh food. If the weather is good the rollup doors are usually open. After school the kids just pile in here. It’s awesome. It is exactly what we wanted.”

Little Rippy’s first opened for the Cotton Festival and it has been a hit with plenty of repeat customers.

“We have people who have already come in five or more times,” Rippy said. “They are eating it all. Within a day or two people were wanting more. We had planned to wait a few weeks. So I put the easiest things I had already picked out to do on the menu.” 

Favorites are already the strawberry spinach salad, chicken salad and Blue Bell ice cream.

Rippy isn’t sure if her place would have come to life in downtown Eclectic if it weren’t for property owner Clyde Williams. Rippy was already renting the building OGB is in for nine years from Williams when they struck up a conversation. Rippy shared her vision and Williams said he would build it.

“It is good to see small downtowns like this stay alive,” Williams said. “That is what I have been trying to do since I retired. I have like five buildings here. I do it more to help the town than to make money.”

Rippy put sweat equity into the building with Williams. They finished the floors. The interior design is Rippy’s idea built by Williams and contractors.

“I think she will do really well here,” Williams said. “It took a lot longer than we thought it would.  She is real creative.”

Rippy said Williams also wanted to see a diner of some sort in downtown similar to what his father had as a kid. Maybe it’s Williams reliving his childhood memories.

“He did this so he could have ice cream all the time,” Rippy said. “He is in almost everyday. It has been for his vanilla ice cream, maybe the conversation.”

Hours are mostly centered around lunch. Little Rippy’s is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Rippy plans to add paninis and flatbread pizzas to the menu. She said the eatery won’t add fryers or anything of the like because of one of the reasons behind the vision of Little Rippy’s 10 a.m. discussions with her employees at OGB.

“There is not much in town that is fresh,” Rippy said. “Everyday we were like what is for lunch. We were putting on weight. We wanted sandwiches and salads. We wanted something more healthy. The whole point was to have something fresh. Something that wasn’t going to set heavy.”

Rippy said Williams is a great landlord and wants to see Eclectic thrive like her.

“I wanted to bring an aspect of gathering to the town,” Rippy said. “Everyone that has come in has said it is a comfortable hangout. That was the goal. It is somewhere we can connect to each other. It has been amazing.”