Meet Joyce Lee | Self-taught baker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Joyce Lee and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joyce, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I wanted to share my excitement for food and eating with my community. Long Beach has been my home for many years now, and during that time, I’ve witnessed the evolution of its food scene where chefs and bakers alike create and collaborate to put out really amazing dishes. Seeing the community embrace these new food concepts has inspired me to be genuine and bold in my food creations as well. Feeding people has always been deeply gratifying to me. Starting this business has given me the chance to do that on a larger scale, reaching more people and spreading good feelings. As Long Beach continues to grow and innovate, I look forward to growing alongside it.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
The Pastry Club aims to deliver an experience that is playful, exciting, and full of surprises, built on a foundation of delicious, fresh, and handmade baked goods. Every month, we present a rotating menu with the intention of sparking curiosity and bringing a sense of joy and discovery with each item. The biggest compliments we’ve received so far are, “I’ve never seen anything like this before,” and “I can’t choose, so I’ll take one of each.” We love seeing our regulars come back week after week just as much as watching new customers embrace our playful approach to food.

The journey to get to where we are today took resilience, conviction, and a whole lot of hard work. We’ve had to brave unpredictable factors, like lower foot traffic at pop-up events or losing $1000 worth of product due to equipment malfunctions. Nonetheless, we persevere, adapt, and focus on what we value: building relationships with customers and delivering quality pastries we are proud of.

I want the world to know that at The Pastry Club, we’re not chasing perfection. We’re creating moments of delight, excitement, and just the right amount of silliness to make every visit warm and memorable.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Day 1: Grab an Instigator from Coffee Drunk, outdoor yoga with Yoga on the Bluff, stroll on the beach path to Belmont Shore, dinner at Sushi Nikkei for Peruvian sushi

Day 2: Coffee and pastries from Gusto, shopping at Retro Row, dinner at Ellie’s, drinks at Baby Gee

Day 3: Grab a maple lavender latte from Rose Park Roasters, volleyball on the beach, romp around Rosie’s Dog Beach, get a Spicy Steve from Olives for lunch, Tacos Uziel for dinner

Day 4: Mo’s Special and iced coffee w/ condensed milk for breakfast at Phnom Penh Noodle Shack, Jazz Night at Good Time

Day 5: Grab breakfast burritos from Tito’s Bakery, picnic at El Dorado Park

Day 6: Pickle Banh Mi for banh mi and Vietnamese iced coffee, bouldering session at Long Beach Rising

Day 7: Explore Long Beach Antique Market, Brazilian BBQ for dinner at Green Field Churrascaria

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Thank you to all our family, friends, and neighbors for supporting us at our pop-up events, sharing our food, spreading the word about our little business, and always offering a helping hand. Shoutout to Kyra for nominating us for this interview and also her artistic talents in designing our logo. Shoutout to Jenny for her ingenious pastry creations and continuing to wow me with her imaginativeness. Shoutout to my husband for always radiating his infectious positivity.

Website: https://thepastryclub.co

Instagram: @thepastryclub_

Other: TikTok: @thepastryclub