One of Manhattan’s most famous smoked fish purveyors is coming to Hudson Yards as Russ & Daughters opens a new cafe on the West Side.
The Lower East Side fixture will open in the spring at 50 Hudson Yards, on the corner of 34th Street and Tenth Avenue, at the base of the 58-story office building.
It is the fifth site for the 108-year-old institution, which branched out from its East Houston Street shop to open a cafe round the corner, a branch in the Jewish Museum, and in 2019 a restaurant in Brooklyn’s Navy Yards where it had opened a bakery in 2014.
Now Midtown smoked fish fans will be able to avoid battling the subway and the lines outside the legendary Lower East Side establishment for the first time.
Niki Russ Federman, a fourth-generation owner of Russ & Daughters along with cousin Josh Russ Tupper said: “This newest Russ & Daughters will provide an immersive appetizing experience that celebrates our roots in the Lower East Side and the innovative spirit of New York. We’re still a family business that continues to serve four generations of New Yorkers and visitors.”
At 4,500 square feet, the new location is far larger than the original store opened in 1914 by Joel Russ, a Jewish immigrant from Poland who peddled the cured fish from a pushcart for seven years, until he saved enough for the rent.
The new Russ & Daughters will also offer a champagne and caviar bar, another first for the family, but will respect its most important traditions: an appetizing counter with fish sliced by hand with a take-a-number system.
There will also be a bagel bakery on view and bialys and babka to supplement the lox, and in keeping with the LES location, delivery.
50 Hudson Yards is the giant office tower that is becoming home to Meta — Facebook’s parent company — and investment manager BlackRock.
Snaring Russ & Daughters is a boost to Related Companies, the Hudson Yards developers, adding a major New York name to a line-up that includes Momofuku’s fried chicken spot Fuku and José Andrés’ Mercado Little Spain.
The massive Midtown West corporate, retail, and hospitality complex has suffered high-profile vacancies and reversals since its inception, including the closure of flagship shop Neiman Marcus (now earmarked for a refit as office space) and the shutdown of public access to The Vessel.
And it suffered a blow in April when tenant CNN shut down its CNN+ streaming service less than a month after a launch party at Peak, the restaurant, bar and event space on the 101st floor of the development’s tallest building.
But last week it hosted the 2022 Michelin Awards, also at Peak, a statement of ambition that the development might snare stars for some of its own restaurants.
Moving into Hudson Yards is not the only major development for the Russ & Daughters family. Earlier this year it was revealed that their story is to be turned into a TV series.
Welcome to Russ and Daughters Cafe but another mention in the article caught my attention, the closing of The Vessel to the public which I think is totally wrong. The Vessel is a beautiful work of art, it should have people climbing it, appreciating it and the views along the way. Sadly, there have been people who chose to jump off it, people have jumped off the GW Bridge, people jump off office building, people have jumped from the building where I reside and yesterday a woman jumped off a high floor of a Times Sq. Hotel but none of them were closed for more than a few hours why then is The Vessel standing solitary and forlorn ? It is time to reconsider the fate of this magnificent structure.