Delicious, but such tiny portions: small exhibition of a deli legend

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Published: 19 September 2019

Last updated: 5 March 2024

That’s the feeling after noshing on “Russ & Daughters: An Appetizing Story”, an exhibition that has opened in Manhattan

RUSS & DAUGHTERS, of course, is the “appetizing store” that’s been hawking smoked fish, pickles, and noshes from the same Lower East Side perch since 1907. Under the direction of Niki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper - fourth-generation owners of the business - Russ & Daughters has mushroomed, with a sleek outpost at the Jewish Museum and a huge commercial operation at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

There’s a fascinating story behind the business, and anyone who’s read Mark Russ Federman’s Russ & Daughters memoir knows the shop carries decades of lore, stories, and gossip. The exhibition at the Museum of Jewish History skims the surface, but you walk away feeling there’s an even bigger tale to tell behind this iconic Jewish enterprise.

FULL STORY The fascinating story behind ‘Russ & Daughters’, on exhibit now (Forward)

Photo: Russ & Daughters shop sign in New York (Michael Visontay)