This Iconic NYC 'Appetizing' Store Teamed Up With West Elm — Now Its "Timeless" Tableware Can Be Yours From the Price of a Specialty Fish Sandwich
"There is something special about an object that can become part of your own story while also connecting you to something bigger than yourself," Josh Russ Tupper says of the traditional essence of the brand's Russ & Daughters collab
Calvin Trillin sang its praises in The New Yorker in the 1970s. Anthony Bourdain dedicated a segment of the Disappearing Manhattan episode of his Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations travel and food TV show to it. The Financial Times called the address one of the "50 greatest food stores in the world" in 2021. That Russ & Daughters is a New York City institution is a fact, but even the most devoted of fans would have found a West Elm collab highly implausible till 24 hours ago, when its serveware collection with the brand dropped. Now the fourth-generation family-run American Jewish appetizing store's cherished tabletops can be yours for a little over the price of one of its delicious hand-rolled cream cheese and lox bagels.
The origins of Russ & Daughters go back to 1914, when Joel Russ, a Jewish Immigrant hailing from Poland, opened J Russ International Appetizers not far from the deli's current 179 East Houston Street location in Manhattan's Lower East Side, where it would move six years later before finding its definitive name in 1933. The concept saw Russ grow from a street vendor of Polish mushrooms and pickled herring to the hard-working owner of a family business he ran alongside his three daughters, Hattie, Anne, and Ida, from whom the store gets its moniker. New Yorkers have since associated the historic shopfront with the smell of freshly baked bread, cured fish, and spiced babka.
Today, with cousins Josh Russ Tupper and Niki Russ Federman at its helm, Russ & Daughters has just found a way to enter the home of its most loyal habitués — and become a permanent part of it. "We loved the idea of sharing the Russ & Daughters story, history, and aesthetic differently," the two tell Livingetc. Bringing together the heritage of Russ & Daughters with a modern design perspective was the guiding principle of the collaboration — a white-and-cobalt-blue-coded tableware set of some 20 pieces, including nostalgic stoneware bowls, plates, and mugs, alongside decorative trays, keepsake boxes, and kitchen linens, each reinterpreting the store's signage and familial atmosphere in functional form.
Of all items part of the West Elm Russ & Daughters collection, the large fish platters are Josh and Niki's favorites. "They really capture what Russ & Daughters is about: they are beautiful centerpieces for a table, but more importantly, they invite people to come together and share, not just for the holidays, but all year round," the two explain. "There is something special about an object that can become part of your own story while also connecting you to something bigger than yourself, a tradition that existed long before us and, we hope, will continue for many generations to come." Discover our own edit of the West Elm Russ & Daughters line below.
"West Elm is a New York-born-and-bred brand, just like Russ & Daughters, and is synonymous with great, timeless design. That connection to New York made the partnership feel very natural," Josh Russ Tupper and Niki Russ Federman say.
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