Obituaries

Herb Abrash played such a central role in Detroit's produce industry that he once had a show on WDIV-TV in which he talked about Chilean grapes, New Zealand pears and California lettuce, often in humorous terms.

"His first love was family and friends. His second love was the produce business," said Jeff Abrash, Mr. Abrash's son.

"He was a leader in the local industry," Jeff Abrash said. "He was an aggressive promoter. He was well known nationwide as one of the stalwarts of the wholesale produce trade, and he served on the boards of major trade organizations."

Mr. Abrash, who lived in Bloomfield Hills, died Sunday of complications from kidney disease. He was 79.

For years, Mr. Abrash ran Andrews Brothers, the family produce business that his grandfather founded in 1899. He operated out of the Detroit Produce Terminal, on Fort Street west of Livernois, a sprawling clearinghouse for fruits and vegetables that are shipped in from growers across the nation and around the world before being sold to local grocers, supermarkets, purveyors and fruit markets.

Rising at 1 a.m., Mr. Abrash would travel to the terminal and do business amid a hectic atmosphere of sharp-eyed traders, buying and selling truckloads of produce that within hours would wind up in kitchens across metro Detroit.

In 1984, Mr. Abrash and a partner purchased the terminal and financed renovations to modernize the complex.

"It was very important for the future of the local produce business," Jeff Abrash said. "My dad recognized that because the produce terminal was owned by the railroad, we didn't have control of our destiny. He orchestrated the private takeover, and he was able to make sure we had a functional place to do business."

The terminal is now owned by a consortium of companies that works there.

Talkative, personable and generous, Mr. Abrash carried himself with a swagger. He had many friends, none more important than his wife, Denise.

"I was the luckiest girl in the world to be married to him," she said. "We had a friendship and a love affair that transcended the marriage vows."

At work, Mr. Abrash was known as a shrewd trader who placed a high value on integrity and fairness. He was a father figure for a number of protégés who received advice – sometimes harsh – and often a job that launched their own careers in a variety of fields.

"He was a mentor to more people than you could name," said Jeff Abrash. "It was a unique gift he had for reaching out to people and guiding them with some good honest advice. He was like a one-man support group."


Mr. Abrash also was involved in the local restaurant and retail produce business. Staring in the 1980s, he invested in Oyster Alley in Detroit's Trappers' Alley mall, then joined Nino Salvaggio in the Strawberry Hills Fruit Market in Farmington Hills. He partnered, with Bill and Judi Roberts, in the 220 Restaurant in Birmingham, and, with Bill Roberts, in Royal Oak's Town Tavern. He also was a partner with Gil Cox in a number of ventures, and he invested in the Indian Lake Hills golf course in southwestern Michigan.


Mr. Abrash grew up in Grosse Pointe and attended what is now Grosse Pointe South High School, then graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in food administration. He served in the Army from 1954 through 1955.

In addition to Denise Abrash, Jeff Abrash and his wife, Kathy, Mr. Abrash is survived by a daughter, Lisa A. Moore and her husband Jerry; a sister, Joanie Sneyd, and grandchildren Charlie, Maggie, Emily and Joe.

A visitation will be Friday, from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m., at A.J. Desmond & Sons (Vasu, Rodgers & Connell Chapel), 32515 Woodward, between 13 Mile and 14 Mile.

A funeral service will be Saturday, at 10:00am, at First United Methodist Church, 1589 W. Maple Rd., Birmingham.

In lieu of flowers family suggests memorial tributes to St. John Hospital, Nephrology Department or CARE House of Oakland County.