Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
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profle Russ & Daughters: A New York Institution Approaching its 100th birthday, this authentic Jewish appetizing store on Manhattan's Lower East Side looks to bridge the past and future under the direction of its fourth generation of owners. BY DENISE PURCELL I t's been called a national treasure, a living museum, the House that Herring Built and the Louvre of Lox, but it is most often referred to as a New York institution. Russ & Daughters has operated for nearly a century in Manhattan's Lower East Side. In a neighborhood where dozens of similar merchants once flourished, it is one of the few old-style appetizing stores that still exists in the city, specializing in smoked and cured fish, caviar, bagels, baked goods and food gifts. On December 31, 2009, a fourth generation of the Russ family officially took the helm at the venerable shop. Current owners Niki Russ Federman, daughter of former owner Mark Russ Federman, and her cousin Josh Russ Tupper both experienced a renewed interest in the store after working in different careers. Josh, a chemical engineer, came on board in 2002, though he hadn't worked in the shop while growing up as many of his relatives did. "I was raised in an ashram and rebelled to work with semiconductors," he explains. Around the time Josh heard his uncle was looking for a succession plan, "I was having an awakening about the PHOTOS: REBECCA MCALPIN 44 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com