Sasha's Watch & Jewelry Repair, 739 Broad Ripple Avenue [H3 on map], is gone. Sasha, actually Tsalya Khitlik, has retired from the business he purchased from Ann Fisch in 1979. Tsalya told me the story of when Fisch Jewelers' watch repairman died. Mrs. Fisch had a customer with a broken watch. The customer insisted that it be repaired on-site at Fisch's. Tsalya was working for Rost Jewelers at Castleton and agreed to come to the Broad Ripple Avenue shop to repair the watch. After that, he continued to do repairs for Mrs. Fisch. Later one night, the jewelry store was broken into and Mrs. Fisch decided it was getting too dangerous and asked Tsalya if he wanted to buy the business. He took over and stayed at the Broad Ripple location for 37 years.

Tsalya showed me the carton of 7-Up bottles commemorating the 1979 Indianapolis 500 that have been on display in the shop since he took over. "A few of them have walked away over the years," he told me.

Tsalya will be missed by so many customers and neighbors.