Back of the House

Russ & Daughters Immortalized on PBS

A half-pound of sable and two pounds of history.
A half-pound of sable and two pounds of history. Photo: Kate Appleton

The Jews of New York, PBS’s new documentary, could have any number of heroes; we were pleased to see that the family behind downtown lox legend Russ & Daughters was chosen to represent the New York–immigrant experience. As we recently noted here, their Houston Street store is one of the only things keeping the old Lower East Side’s Jewish life from disappearing into history. As scion Josh Russ Tupper tells us, “We’re perpetuating and cultivating the culture of Jewish experience. And whether we’re religious and go to temple is independent of the fact that we’re providing an experience of the Jewish–immigrant era of New York. It’s really important to maintain what it was like and what it is like.” Not to mention, they have some very nice herring there.


Russes among stars of ‘The Jews of New York’ [Alfred University]

Russ & Daughters Immortalized on PBS