The Green Scene is owned and operated by Walker-area residents Erin Andrus and Theresa Bilben. Both Erin and Theresa had grandparents with farms near Walker, so they were introduced to fresh, organic produce early in life. Back then it was just called home-grown. Theresa's parents had a "kitchen garden" and a "big one" out in the field. "Nothing I ate was instant or packaged" recalls Theresa. Her grandparents owned a butcher shop and canned produce.

Theresa started working at Village Square when she was barely a teenager, in the ice cream shop and waiting tables, and just never left. While the trademark dishes of Village Square are pizza and ice cream, with made-from-scratch-sauce and dough, mind you, Theresa and Gary are always trying to come up with new dishes that incorporate fresh and healthy ingredients. They would like to go organic, when they feel their customer base is ready for the leap in price that would require.

Erin was born in Walker and lived here until until her parents moved to the Minneapolis area. She returned every summer to live with her grandparents and recalls eating the produce from her grandparents garden with rapture. "I remember at a very young age, walking in my grandfathers garden here at his home in Walker and picking a green pepper and eating like an apple. I remember the juice squirting, I remember the sweetness. I remember how happy it made me."

Coming from a "food obsessed" family, Erin carried on the tradition by getting culinary training at a technical school in Wisconsin, working in kitchens, and eventually having her own catering business. She moved back to the Walker area in 2002 to be closer to her family and raise her two girls. She didn't consciously make the connection with organic food mirroring the experiences with food she had on her grandparents farm until she tried an organic banana six years ago. "I was blown away by the flavor," she says. "That was what first got me hooked, was the flavor difference in organic verses conventional food.

In addition to running Village Square, Theresa is a licensed real estate agent, and first met Erin over a real estate deal in 2006.
Erin and Theresa's first foray into selling organic produce was having a stand at the farmers market at Turf Tech last summer, at which they sold produce and fruit and vegetable smoothies. It was there that they met folks who expressed their desire to have more access to fresh organic produce, and the idea for regular Green Scene "shares" was born.

Customer Testimonials "It's like having Christmas every Wednesday! The best thing the green scene has turned me on to is arugala. Yummy!" - Melanie R. "They provide most of the groceries for my husband and myself all for $25 a week! I know it's changed the way we eat and what we eat. We've tried new recipes, and I've become a much better cook! I love it." - Sara L. "The reason I started using the Green Scene is because I was spending extra (lots extra) to buy organic produce at my grocery store only to have it be poor quality due to not being maintained well. The produce from the Green Scene is so fresh it's like having my own garden!" - Gayle Y. "I'm starting to be able to taste the difference between organic and not organic." - Brandy R.