John Ades, Most Successful Retailer in Union Square, Dies

John Ades, the vegetable-peeler salesman whose deep-throated, English-accented voice greeted New Yorkers as they left the subway on their way to Union Square office shanties, has died, according to The New York Times.

As essential a part of the Union Square landscape as the Greenmarket, Ades regularly attracted crowds of tourists and New Yorkers alike, transfixed by the sight of the ruddy-faced gentleman in dapper suits peeling potatos and carrots in cold weather or warm, under grey skies or the glaring sun. (He also attracted quite the retail trade: Ades stashed his inventory of unsold peelers in the maid's room of his and his wife's Upper East Side apartment.)

"I'll miss seeing him coming out of the subway," said one commuter.

"I love the peeler guy! So sad!" said another.

Read James Barron's obit here.

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