Daughter of Joe Ades, Legendary Peeler Peddler, Sells Leftovers

Photograph of Ruth Ades-Laurent in Union Square from Eating in Translation

Ruth Ades-Laurent, daughter of eccentric vegetable peeler salesman Joe Ades, picked up her late father's torch this weekend, appearing in Union Square to sell off some of his remaining stock of peelers.

Reached by phone, she told us she had "a fabulous reception; people seemed really comforted to see me instead of a gap where my father used to be. And it was helpful for me as well to deal with the loss of my dad." It was her first time selling the peelers, and she moved approximately 100, though she said it was hard to get through "the story of the peeler" because people kept interrupting to reminisce about her father. "Some fathers leave buildings for their kids; my dad left me peelers and a stack of carrots," she told us, adding that she felt her father shaking his head at her when, after a sale, she mistakenly handed out four five dollar bills as change for a twenty.

Ades-Laurent isn't sure how many boxes of peelers she has left, but estimates she has enough to get her through the spring, and after that she'll order more. Your next chance to see the peeler legacy in action is next Saturday at Union Square, sometime after 10 a.m., "weather permitting." She told Eating in Translation that she'd "practice with a bucketful of potatoes."