Bud Sherk, calling himself the “Ole Country Boy,” and the cars he sold “Sherkmobiles,” opened his first used car lot in 1949 on Florida Avenue (P#$#$). With slogans like “Don’t be a jerk, buy from Sherk,” he fervently embraced the used car business. He was a veteran race car owner running the Number 5 Bud Sherk Offenhauser. He moved to this location, 4317 Gandy Boulevard, in early 1952. Active in the used car world, he contested Tampa’s Blue laws (laws stating certain businesses could not be open on Sundays) in 1956 and won.

The last newspaper ad for Bud Sherk’s Auto Fair was in 1978. He died in 1983. The changes in Gandy Boulevard are remarkable. What was once primarily Florida scrubland is now developed and crowded. Hundreds of businesses have opened here as the area expanded. The plot where Bud Sherk once hawked used cars now has competing banks. Nations Bank has an ATM here, and Wells Fargo has an entire branch. Overhead is the new Gandy extension of the Leroy Selmon Crosstown Expressway.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved