Who’s Who in Walworth County

Mr. Eric Rose, owner of River Valley Ranch

Ranch & Kitchens, Interview with Eric Rose by: T.  Allen Dyer

Question:  Mom or Dad?
Eric Rose: My dad [Bill Rose, a Chicagoland fine-dining restaurateur in the 1970’s], got together with someone who could grow fresh mushrooms and on a shoestring budget started RVR. When dad realized he was shorthanded. He asked me to help him out.   I was planning on starting a bean sprout growing operation in one of my dad’s outbuildings. But I found my way into the fresh mushroom growing business—and have yet to find my way back out.

Question: Sunlight or Moonlight?
Eric Rose: Moonlight, because spending time in the dark mushroom growing houses in hot summers is much more comfortable. Also, when I started in this industry the largest mushroom grower in the world was called “Moonlight” and early on I had a unique opportunity to visit their facility and learn, so there’s that tie-in too.

Question: Wine or Water?
Eric Rose: Water. Mainly for my mushroom crops. I don’t drink much. But without water we are out of business. We have three deep wells on our farms.

Question: Children or Pets?
Eric Rose: I love my children and I love my pets.

Question: Music or Movies?
Eric Rose: Early on it was music, and of late, more streaming movies these days. For music, I lost some interest after the 80s—and I don’t want to sound like my parents complaining how 70s rock music was just loud noise—but my tastes have changed very little. We actually planned to have live music on the Burlington RVR store’s front porch a few years back but haven’t scheduled anything lately.

Question: Pagan or Prayer?
Eric Rose: Non-organized. I certainly spend a lot of my time in those special places of connection to the earth, which is where I do all the work on our crops [i.e., mushroom varieties, garden vegetables, etc.].

Question: Beach or Forest?
Eric Rose: Forest. I was just up at Kettle Moraine State Park for a fall hike. I just love the woods.

Question: Work or Play?
Eric Rose: It’s all the same for me.  It really is.