Our Story
Bob Rippe’s passion for foodservice design dates back to his time in the Army where he managed operations for officers’ clubs. Shortly after being discharged, he moved to Minneapolis and began designing hospital foodservice departments. He spent the next five years developing what became his signature product: easily manageable facilities which efficiently produced high quality food while optimizing customer satisfaction and financial performance.
In 1981, Bob formed Robert Rippe & Associates with the goal of providing foodservice facilities design and operational consulting to architects and owners. Bob rapidly gained a reputation for his healthcare foodservice design expertise. He expanded his staff to include people from varied backgrounds such as restaurants, food and nutrition management, architecture and design.
As our reputation grew, we developed relationships with local and regional architects and food managers, and diversified into foodservice facilities designs for a wide variety of markets including education, corporate, hospitality, community and government agencies. We formed a company steering committee to track technological advances, share project details, and discuss educational opportunities to advance the knowledge of our staff. We are interested in providing individual opportunities to succeed while developing future leaders of our organization.
As Bob considered the future of the company he founded, a succession plan was developed. During a planned transition period, Steve Carlson became President of the firm and purchased ownership of the company in 2006.
Today we continue to grow based on our established successful relationships, illustrated through over 80% of our work resulting from referrals and continued client relationships. We are proud of our company history and continue to work hard to earn and maintain our solid reputation.