Joe Ades, New York City’s Dapper ‘Gentleman Peeler’ Street Salesman

In this 2008 video, Joe Ades expertly pitches a vegetable peeler to prospective customers at Union Square in New York City. From 1993 to 2009, Ades sold the peelers on the streets of New York for $5 a piece. His smooth delivery and tailored suits earned him the nickname: “The Gentleman Peeler.” Meanwhile, his street selling financed both his dapper attire and a comfortable Manhattan lifestyle that included a three-bedroom apartment on Park Avenue. After Ades died in 2009 at 75, his daughter Ruth Ades-Laurent took his place, becoming a peeler seller herself.