A Look At One Unique Business New To Hyde Park Fresh Market

Eric Gelb slowly ran a kitchen knife along a wet grinding wheel at the Fresh Market earlier this month. 

When he was satisfied that the knife had been properly sharpened, he tested its edge by slicing a piece of scrap paper.

“Of course, no one is cutting paper in the kitchen,” he said, “but it’s a good way to tell.”

Gelb, of Wesley Chapel, is running a sharpening booth for his new friend, Mark Bertsche, a New York snowbird who spends his winters in Thonotosassa. Gelb is at the Fresh Market at Wiregrass every first and third Saturday of the month, and he’s at the Fresh Market at Hyde Park Village the first Sunday of the month.

“I had brought (Bertsche) a knife to sharpen here (at Wiregrass), and I was so pleased that I came back to bring him more,” Gelb said.

That’s when Bertsche told Gelb that he would be packing up after the first Fresh Market in May to head back to New York. He would return in October, but while he was gone, there would be no sharpening booth at the markets.

So, Gelb offered himself up to be trained to do the work in Bertsche’s absence. Now, he even has his own business: Ric’s Sharpening Service.

He sharpens kitchen knives, scissors, and other household or gardening items at the markets and at his home.

Gelb said once Bertsche returns, they’ll likely work together.

The craft is one Gelb enjoys.

There’s “never a dull moment,” he joked.

For more information about Gelb’s business, call 813-416-1758 or email rics.sharpening@yahoo.com.

For more information about Bertsche’s business, visit www.mmsharpening.com.

The Fresh Market at The Shops at Wiregrass takes place on the first and third Saturdays of the month, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

The Fresh Market at Hyde Park Village takes place on the first Sunday of the month, 10 a.m-2 p.m.