What’s the best bagel you’ve had in New York? Russ & Daughters, a century-old store in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, is definitely one of Bagel’s ceilings! It is the best option for nearby residents to have breakfast, and it is also an online celebrity shop where tourists line up to check in. Smoked Salmon Bagels, Russ & Daughters’ signature delicacy! However, the story behind this store is also very legendary. Now, the story of Russ & Daughters is going to be made into a TV series!
Beginning in 1880, many Eastern European Jews fled to the United States to escape the Nazi slaughter, and brought their favorite bagels with them by the way. Bagel also closely linked New York and Chicago, which had the largest number of Jewish immigrants at the time.
In order to maintain the tradition and recipe of bagels, the Jews established a bagel masters guild based in New York, and strictly controlled the production and sales, similar to the monopoly system. It is said that only guild masters can make and sell it, and this power is only passed on to sons through hereditary system… This also makes bagel bread shrouded in mystery.
In 1907, Joel Russ, like many European Jews, crossed the ocean from Poland to New York City, starting his immigrant life. In the beginning, he and his family pushed small carts and sold herring side dishes piece by piece. In 1914, the deli Russ & Daughters was established, and people liked to buy its wide range of deli, side dishes and semi-finished products. In 1920, Russ & Daughters moved to its current address, 179 E Houston St – in a blink of an eye, more than 100 years have passed.
The Russ family is also recognized as one of the families that first brought bagels to New York and flourished. New York once had more than 1,500 kosher delis, but now only about 20 remain, including Russ & Daughters. Even today, Russ & Daughters are legendary. As long as you open the door of the store, a salty aroma will blow your face, caviar, various cream cheese, side dishes… are neatly placed in the glass food cabinet, like a work of art.
Joel Russ doesn’t have a son, so his three daughters, Hattie, Ida and Anne, have joined the family business and together they continue to run the diners’ favourite. So, the name of the shop is Russ & Daughters
Niki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper, the fourth owners of Russ & Daughters, have reached an agreement with Time Studios, the film and television production arm of Time magazine, to allow producers to write scripts based on the store’s saga.
The producers hope to use Russ & Daughters as the representative to tell the story of immigrant families and food in the city of New York.
“The story of Russ & Daughters spanning more than a century is about perseverance, family and community,” says the current owner of Russ & Daughters.
Although the storyline and details have not been announced yet, we expect to see the TV series next year! In the immigrant metropolis of New York, there are many treasure shops like Russ & Daughters.
