Why You'll Find A Donut Shop On Almost Every Corner In Southern California

In Southern California, mom and pop donut shops are omnipresent, and donuts are as engrained in California food culture as fish tacos and date shakes. Growing up in San Diego, a pink box filled with glazed treats always made an appearance at elementary school birthdays, softball games, and park picnics. While Krispy Kreme and Winchell's chains have long been options, Southern Californians tend to prefer their local neighborhood spots — most of which are family owned and operated staples in the community. It may surprise you to learn that the adored donut shops found on every corner are mostly run by Cambodian immigrants, and about 80% of Southern Californian donut shops are Cambodian-owned.  

In the late 1970s, many Cambodians fled their country to escape a genocide that killed an estimated 2 million people over a four-year period, committed by the Khmer Rouge regime that came to power in 1975. From the mid '70s to the mid '90s, approximately 150,000 Cambodian refugees escaped to the United States, where they were met with American donuts not too dissimilar to a Cambodian pastry called nom kong. Today, the largest populations of Cambodians are concentrated in California, with an estimated 40,000 living in the Los Angeles area alone. In the time since, Cambodian-Americans have increased their levels of employment through different roles — many becoming entrepreneurs building the businesses that both support and fuel SoCal's lust for donuts.

While there are many Cambodian-American run donuts shops in SoCal today, most can be tied back to the influence of one Cambodian-American in particular: Ted Ngoy. The subject of the PBS documentary, "The Donut King," Ngoy worked his way up to a manager position at a Winchell's in Newport Beach, then later purchased an existing donut shop in La Habra, Orange County named Christy's in 1979, where his wife and kids helped run the shop. Ngoy expanded the Christy's empire and was able to sponsor visas for others fleeing Cambodia, employ them, and lease out his shops — kicking off an industry that became popular long before the arrival of Krispy Kreme in 1999.

Ngoy's roadmap of success became an example for other Cambodian immigrants, as a donut shop was a relatively easy business to run, and the language barrier wasn't a large issue, with only a few pieces of English vocabulary to learn relating to donut flavors and coffee orders. California culture was welcoming to this community and type of quick and delicious food, paving the way for expansion and prosperity for the donut industry. Even Southern California's iconic pink boxes have a history tied specifically to Cambodian donut shop owners, who eschewed expensive, glossy white boxes for cheaper matte pink boxes, which are ubiquitous in the region to this day. 

While both Ngoy's and SoCal's donut story at large originated in Orange County, Los Angeles is a donut town. Most Angelenos have a favorite local donut shop (I personally prefer SK's and California Donuts), and everyone takes great pride in supporting the local shops as opposed to larger chains. If you're craving donuts but can't make it to Southern California, seek out the best donut shop in your state.