California’s 2nd Generation ‘Doughnut Kids’ Are Taking Over the Store

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KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 11 July 2022

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Nearly 80 percent of Southern California’s doughnut shops are estimated to be owned by Cambodian immigrants. Many of those owners, who struggled over hot fryers at shops open 24hours a day, seven days a week, hoped that their own children would move away from the doughnut business and join the ranks of white-collar professionals. But a generation of “doughnut kids” are opting to continue family traditions and run the shops they grew up in. They are modernizing the business while learning how to be the boss. We'll talk about doughnuts and the experience of continuing a family business’ legacy. Guests: Cathy Chaplin, senior reporter and editor, Eater LA, - author of "Food Lovers' Guide to Los Angeles." She is the author of the article "The Future of LA’s Cambodian-Owned Doughnut Shops Is in the Hands of the Next Generation." Dorothy Chow, vice-president, B & H Bakery Distributors. Danette Kuoch, co-owner and operator, California Donuts - Kuoch is a second-generation doughnut shop owner and created the Snickers doughnut. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:44.6	From KQED in San Francisco, this is Forum. I'm Mina Kim. It's estimated some 80% of Southern California
1:08.5	donut shops are Cambodian owned, and many of those owners,
1:11.9	immigrants who toiled over hot friars at shops open 24-7, hoped for white-collar jobs
1:17.8	for their children. But now, a generation of so-called donut kids are opting to continue
1:23.6	the family business and transform it with their social media and tech savvy and
1:28.0	flair for coming up with new flavors we meet some of these donut kids and
1:32.1	find out what it's been like to take over and modernize a family business that
1:36.6	initially they tried to move away from join us Welcome to Forum. I'm Mina Kim.
1:51.6	Dorothy Chow basically grew up at the San Francisco donut shop owned by her Cambodian immigrant parents.
1:57.8	One of many her father opened. In his heyday, he opened dozens along Highway
2:01.8	99 before starting a baking distribution company to supply those shops with the flour,
2:07.5	fillings, and other ingredients they needed. Dorothy Chow is now vice president of sales at that company,
	...

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