The scent is like a farmer’s market with a fresh smoothie in one hand and a basket of produce in the other. It’s sweet and fresh; it’s Truce. Walking in, the space is small, but sunlight streams in through large windows of the storefront; downstairs is much larger with space for hundreds of pounds of produce deliveries daily..

Five years ago, Truce opened its first location in Uptown with a glass wall between the kitchen and the front end to show their process with complete transparency to show the ingredients and the process that makes their fresh-pressed juices.

Co-owners Allie Pholad and Blaire Molitor opened the fresh-pressed juice shop because they saw it lacking from the area, but the choice to go organic was no choice at all.

“We don’t believe in operating under a buzzword mentality,” Pohlad said. “Going organic was pretty much a no-brainer.”

The mission was to offer products they could 100 percent stand behind based on their belief in organic produce and a holistic health approach. Since then, Katie Pinto has taken over Molitor’s place when she moved on, but their vision has not changed.

Now, they have opened their fourth location in Wayzata early this year and their menu is far more than juices but homemade nut milks, salads, bowls, chips, granola and other grab-and-go items all fresh made, vegan and organic.

“Juice is half the operation at this point,” Pohlad said.

For now, those four locations are all they’re looking to have.

“We’re at a point where we’ve tapped the locations we want to,” Pohlad said. “Now, we want to give them a chance to thrive.”

New additions will still be coming to the four locations, including seasonal and ways to address particular health concerns– especially those that come specifically from their customers. The newbie for now is Major League Beets, a shot aimed for the athlete.

“Beets are really good for your blood,” Pohlad said.

That product is only one of everything they make at their North Loop location and production kitchen daily, receiving a produce delivery from the regionally local supplier Co-Op Partners and preparing juices before hand-labeling everything. The process behind-the-scenes does not look much different than preparing something at home, just that the equipment is larger and the portions of ingredients are plentiful.

Plentiful being hundreds and hundreds of pounds of fresh, organic produce, according to General Manager Megan Cherry. All of that makes over 300 bottles of juice for their four locations for that day with about five pounds in each.

All of that fresh, organic produce means that a single bottle ranges from $8.50 to $9.50, which comes with some sticker shock for some, but Truce stands behind their high-quality ingredients that yield that price and many loyal fans proclaim it’s worth it.

To try it for yourself, visit any one of four locations in Uptown or North loop of Minneapolis, St. Paul or Wayzata.