Who Rocks the Party that Rocks the LES?

It's the bakery named for a minivan, with everything from baguettes to buns

Jacqueline “Jacq” Russo Eng, mask on, in front of her bakery Partybus on Essex Street

At the end of December, I went down to Essex Street to see Jacqueline Russo Eng at Partybus Bakeshop, the one with the colorful vinyl decals of baked goods and produce on the windows,¹ where I like to get corn muffins, cheddar chive biscuits, scallion buns or on weekends, cinnamon buns (more on those later), and where Mia goes on Sundays for the Sicilian sesame bread, which is only available on that day.

Partybus is one of those bakeries that quietly and consistently does what it does well, without a lot of fuss or fanfare or flashy branding or strategic PR pushes. You’re not going to see a spurt of social media activity where all the expected influencers post about the seasonal savory danish, new coconut ginger scone, or new, new twice baked pain au chocolat filled with red velvet cake crumble frangipane, at the same time, identical reels on repeat (never a coincidence, people; think about it). Jacqueline² doesn’t concern herself with virtual entities too much, or as she says, “I’m not an instagrammy person.”

She’s invested in forging a physical connection with locals who live or work on the Lower East Side—you know, in walking distance, like the old days. “The community we developed is right here,” she says. “We’re not a destination; we’re a neighborhood spot.”

That’s what Partybus does well—not just the baked goods (and if those weren’t good, we wouldn’t be giving it the time of day), but the kind of reality-based community-building, where she and her team interact with their customers in person and adjust to their rhythms and needs.

And that’s what I wanted to talk to her about, which we did, and it made me appreciate the bakery and Jacqueline even more. But a “funny” thing happened: I recorded our conversation so I would have a transcript of it, as one does when one plans to publish a story about someone. Or I thought I recorded it. I mean, I did. Sort of.

On my way home, my bag full of goodies (The gingerbread muffin! The cardamom bun! January’s “Golden Loaf”! My biscuit! The last cinnamon bun of the day!), I pulled up the recording to upload it for transcription and something didn’t look right—it seemed as though it only took up an impossible 31.3KB of storage. So, I hit “play.” The recording was one second long. ONE SECOND. That’s all that remained of our talk.

Statistically, it was bound to happen. But it ruled out any plans for a Q&A format or a traditional profile. Instead, I’ve relied on my memory and my casually jotted notes. Jacqueline and her bakery deserve better than today’s post, but this is the best I could do under the circumstances.

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The focus remains unchanged. This one’s about community.

Okay, but what does that mean, “community”?