We had the good fortune of connecting with Allyson Johnson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Allyson, what do you attribute your success to?
The most important factor behind the success of SipSavorSisters is purpose. We started our page with a purpose in mind and we have never strayed from that. Some people use the words goals, initiatives, targets, but basically all of those give people a fixed point and a focus. Often, getting off of that focus leads us down a path that doesn’t really show who we truly are and takes us away from doing what we do best. We remind ourselves of what our true purpose is everyday and we work hard to do the things that support that the most.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I fell into food blogging and writing by chance. My sister, Leisa Barger, and I decided to start taking pictures of the beautiful food we were eating and tell the story of the service we would receive at the places we visited. We truly thought we were just creating an “online photo album” for our food memories. It began to grow and eventually we had thousands of followers. We had no idea it would do that well, but then the pressure was on for me to learn how to take even better and better pictures! I still work so hard to get the best shots even though I just use my iphone 12! I have always been a writer so that part was a little easier to tackle. Some of the lessons I’ve learned along the way is 1. sometimes you do just have a natural “eye” or talent for creative work, 2. Even with natural talent, you should never stop learning and trying to improve your creative side, 3. Do not be afraid to mess up or ask for help. What sets us apart is the story of two sisters, coming together over food and celebrating the fun and spirituality of it. Also, we tell the stories of the people behind the food, the people who serve us and who we meet along the way. I think if there is anything that I would want the world to know about us is that we are two women who love food, who love people and we believe that so many disagreements could be put aside if people would just commune over good food together more!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would want to take my friend to a ton of little food spots as well as unique and fun gathering spots. For a little fun and art culture we would visit the Sweet Tooth Hotel and have drinks at the Candy Bar. Next, we would walk around Victory Park and probably end up at Klyde Warren for some unique takes on downtown park life. Another spot that I love and is so fun for views is Waterproof at the top of The Statler Hotel. All of this is in Dallas so at some point we would hit some cool food places in the surrounding towns. Bumbershoot BBQ in Argyle is amazing! I also love Bongo and Beaux in Celina. I love to visit the Dallas Farmer’s Market and 8 Cloves is one of my favorite restaurants there for Tikka Masala. As a foodie there are SO many great places that it is so hard to choose! I also love Emilia’s in The Colony, Daq’s Daquiri Lounge in Frisco, and Oiishi Sushi in Dallas. I couldn’t be true to my best friend if I didn’t show them some of the best BBQ from Pecan Lodge either. We’d definitely hit Deep Ellum one day and hang at Ebb and Flow for drinks after eating our BBQ. As you can see, my ideal day involves A LOT of food because, well, that’s what I do!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We would like to dedicate our story to our dad, Charlie Altimore. It’s because of him that we came together as sisters and realized life is too precious not to be making time to be together. We began meeting for meals and taking pictures because we realized that food and family go together so well. Whether it’s friends,coworkers, or true blood relatives, food brings us all together and food gives us something to connect over. Our dad was Italian and he loved good food so this is for him!

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