Real Bites

Village Square of Fountain

Some of you may have heard that the Village Square of Fountain in Fountain, Minn., recently won the Fillmore County Journal 2020 Reader’s Choice Award for Best of the Best in the “Pizza” category.

Year after year, that particular award bounces back and forth between the Village Square of Fountain, The Pizza Place in Spring Valley, Minn., or The Creamery in Rushford, Minn.  It all depends on how readers vote and from what regions of our coverage area.

When you walk into the Village Square of Fountain, behind the display of delicious Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream is a wall full of awards for best ice cream, pie, and pizza.

Mary Milne, owner of the Village Square of Fountain, runs a great restaurant.  And, even with the pandemic stifling many businesses, this small town restaurant has made the best of the situation. 

When the neighboring business Karst Brewing Co. is busy serving up Top of the Trail, the Village Square of Fountain is also busy.  They deliver pizzas to the brewery, which benefits both establishments.

With the nice weather, cyclists have been aplenty in Fountain, which benefits the brewery, and places like the Village Square of Fountain, AJ’s Diner, and Beaver Bottoms Saloon.

That symbiotic relationship is important for a small town to survive, and hopefully thrive.

At our house, pizza from the Village Square of Fountain is a staple.

Whether we need a break from preparing supper or simply because we miss the taste of their award-winning pizza, we always welcome a couple of pies on our kitchen counter.

The only challenge we have is the debate that takes place over what to order.

There are some people who feel that pineapple does not belong on pizza.  We will have to agree to disagree.  I enjoy Canadian bacon and pineapple on my pizza (The Hawaiian).  Meanwhile, we have some family members who don’t like pepperoni.  So, we have to mix and match, and the Village Square of Fountain accommodates our patchwork of requests.

And, when we have guests from out of town, they are always surprised to find out that we have a great little restaurant serving up pizza in our small town.  They are even more surprised to find out that it’s better than any pizza place in the big city.