Here’s something sweet to jumpstart your day.
Every morning at 4:30, small business owners John Chhan and his wife, Stella, have faithfully opened the doors to the Donut City Shop in Seal Beach, Calif. for nearly 30 years. But when Stella suffered a brain aneurysm in September, John was left to choose between keeping his business open — and aiding his recuperating wife.
“She’s in a nursing home,” Chhan told CNN on Monday. . “My sister-in-law is here helping me.”
When the store’s loyal patrons heard about Chhan’s dire situation, the community pulled together — to eat lots of doughnuts.
Lately, customers have assembled in droves at the beloved bakery, buying up every single doughnut and cup of coffee until the store is sold out as early as 7:30 a.m., so that Chhan can get home and be with his ailing wife.
Patrons spoke with local news reporters about Chhan and Stella’s doughnuts and what the couple’s cheery service has meant to the town.
“I would drop by there with my mom and dad in the mornings before school. John would always toss a few extra doughnut holes. He always has a smile on his face,” says Steven O’Fallon.
“It’s one of the few things that’s still here. He makes them fresh and brings them right there in the mornings. It’s a real American dream for them,” 20-year regular Jenee Rogers says of the couple, who came to the United States as Cambodian refugees in 1979.
The Chhans insisted no crowd-funding sites be built on their behalf. But putting money into the business, says the community, is the least they can do.
“I am very appreciative,” says Chhan.
