First-ever Russ & Daughters Day will feature free bagels, scavenger hunts, walking tours and more

If you needed an excuse to carb-load on a Saturday, here it is: Russ & Daughters is finally getting its own day. The legendary Lower East Side appetizing shop—purveyors of smoked salmon, babka, bagels and more since 1914—is throwing a neighborhood-wide celebration on Saturday, September 20, and you’re invited to eat, stroll and schmooze your way through the festivities.

Dubbed the first-ever Russ & Daughters Day, the event coincides with the release of the family’s very first cookbook, Russ & Daughters: 100 Years of Appetizing. To mark the occasion, they’re teaming up with Orchard Street’s indie bookstore P&T Knitwear for a jam-packed schedule of freebies and community happenings. Think walking tours, scavenger hunts, photo exhibitions, live podcast tapings and, yes, bagels on the house.

RECOMMENDED: The best New York deli counters, from old-time appetizing stores to tradition-keeping newcomers

Here’s what’s on the menu: Starting at 10am, P&T Knitwear will open its doors for a daylong lineup of events. Visitors can spin a prize wheel for giveaways, peruse a Russ & Daughters photography exhibition and pick up pre-signed copies of the new cookbook. If you need fuel, show your purchase receipt between 10am and noon and score a free bagel-and-coffee combo (while supplies last).

For explorers, a self-guided scavenger hunt across the LES promises a seriously New York prize: a $500 gift basket stuffed with Russ & Daughters goodies and neighborhood treats. Complete it and you’re in the running—no need to be present at the 5 pm drawing to win.

History buffs will want to grab one of the extremely limited RSVPs for the walking tours. At 11am, fourth-generation co-owner Niki Russ Federman will lead guests through the family’s favorite LES landmarks. At 1 pm, author Dan Slater takes the reins with a tour that dives into the Jewish underworld of the early 20th century.

The afternoon caps off inside P&T Knitwear’s podcast studio, where Bradley Tusk will host a live recording of Firewall at 3pm, interviewing Russ & Daughters co-owners Niki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper about their new book and family legacy. Stick around for a 4 pm meet-and-greet and signing session, then see if you’re the lucky scavenger hunt winner at 5.

The best part? Every event is completely free; all you need to do is RSVP in advance at RussAndDaughtersDay.com.

Bagels, babka, smoked fish and stories: Russ & Daughters Day is shaping up to be the most delicious holiday the LES has seen in 111 years.