All language subtitles for The.Donut.King.2020.1080p.WEBRip.x265-RARBG

If you are a son or a daughter

of an immigrant family
who runs a small business,

you can definitely identify with

spending a lot of time

in the shop.

Oh, it's just hard
to wake up at four.

Everybody else is asleep
in the world.

My parents
had strong work ethic.

It was seven days a week,
365 days out of the year,

no days off.

All your donuts
are ready.

My dad woke me up 5:00 a.m.

every Saturday morning,
to come in and help him.

It's hard labor.
It's physical, and no breaks.

I was working since I was 10.

-We have the next generation
helping here.

We don't just have kids.
We have future employees.

You did it, thank you.

Growing up with
my parents, helping them out.

This is the only thing I know.

When I was younger,

I kind of always thought
everyone owned donut shops

'cause my parents
owned donut shops.

No matter
how much donuts we make,

it's just all gone,
all the time.

I went to my uncle's house
when I was in fifth grade,

he pulled out
this newspaper scrap.

When I found out
about Ted, I was like,

"Oh, actually, this is what
our family does for business."

-Uncle Ted has a very
interesting reputation

in our family.

I don't know much
about Uncle Ted.

I've only met him once.

I don't know much
about him.

I-I used to see him a lot
when I was a kid.

What I heard about him

was that he had a lot of money, had a lot of shops.

He established a path
for Cambodian refugees

to actually have
an opportunity in America.

I love America.

I'm so proud
that I live in America.

I have my freedom.
I can do whatever I want.

I'm not the only successful
Cambodian-owned donut shop.

There are many,
many out there,

because Uncle Ted
brought us here.

And they are all
hard-working people.

It really is about
tryin' to understand

where you've come from.

Ted Ngoy shaped
an entire ethnic community.

He's a legend and...

he's the king of donuts.

In most of America,
there's an average

of about one donut shop
for every 30,000 people.

In LA, there's one donut
shop for every 7,000 people.

Donuts are--
are everywhere here.

Seems like there's one
in every strip mall,

all originated
with Ted Ngoy.

I mean, 5,000
independent donut shops

in California today...

90% owned by Cambodians.

Customer favorite.

Time to make the donuts.

Mm, donuts.

Donuts. Go nuts.

Dunkin' Donuts
found it so hard

to break into the LA market
that in the late '90s,

they gave up.

The Cambodians
have that market on lock.

This is an important story.

This is an exciting story.

A very new one to tell.
Everybody knows it.

America's Donut King.

Ted started
working in a gas station.

One day,
he smelled this,

this great fragrance,

and he asked his coworker
what it was.

And his coworker said,
"Oh, that's a donut shop."

I remember,
it was a slow night

about midnight,
and there was no traffic.

I run real fast...
come to this window right here.

I say, "Lady, I would like
to buy some donut."

She said, "OK, I'll sell you
a dozen donuts."

I fall in love with donut,

from that moment
that I have a bite.

Donuts remind me
of a cake called

"Nom Kong" in Cambodia.

Donut tastes like
a little bit of your
childhood...

when you're eating it
and experiencing it.

This nostalgic feeling,

it just sticks with you
throughout your adulthood.

-Very tasty!

He saw that
the doughnuts were delicious,

of course, but he also saw
something else,

that it was the middle
of the night

and this donut shop
was doing a brisk business.

-So I ask, "Lady,
if I can save up to $3,000,

do you think I can open
a donut shop like this?"

And she said, "No!
Don't open your own donut shop,

just go to learn
from Winchell's."

Our reputation
for quality, service,

and cleanliness began here.

This is our first
Winchell's Donut House.

-Well, it's been long time, sir.
-It's good to see you.

Yes. Good to see you.
-Oh, oh,

very good to see you. Wow.
-You're lookin' good.

-I'm looking good?
-You eat a lot of donuts, huh?

- A lot of donuts...

I still love eating donuts.

-Good, good, good
-Yeah.

-What kind of donuts
do you want?

-Well... always like
my favorite one is glazed donut.

Glazed donut should be OK.

So beautiful!

And I need one small
cup of coffee.

Mmm.

You trained me in La Mirada.

La Mirada store out front.

The headquarters,

you remember?
- Yeah.

After the first week
in training,

I knew he was gonna be good,

'cause he listened to me,
accepted everything.

And he was very aggressive
and very interested.

And the donut business
is not easy.

-It's been 44 year now.

-Yeah.
-I remember that I was

only 33-33 years old. 33.

Now, I'm 77.

Seventy-seven?
You're still a kid.

- Still
a kid to compare you, 91!

-Yeah.

In 1975, I feel that
Winchell's training program

will give me the opportunity
to become somebody.

Winchell's
great place to work,

to grow, and to park.

When I started,

they asked me, "Ted,

what did you do
in Cambodia?"

I said, "I was a major
in the army."

"Why you here for?"

"Because of the war."

If I stayed,
they would killed me."

For years,
Cambodia lived on the edge

of the Indochina War.

Now, suddenly, it is in it.

When I see
all these old tanks,

I remember the war.

Phnom Penh
is a totally chaotic,

every day, every minute,

there's gunfire,

there's a rocket bomb.

We lived in hell.

They're getting so close.

Sometime, we were sleeping,

we heard the bombing,
everybody say,

"Come down, come down!"

In Cambodia,
the Communist forces there

are the Khmer Rouge,

and their goal is to
overthrow the government.

-My brother-in-law,

he was a general
in the army.

He gave Ted a position.

My job is to
take care of the payroll,

take over
the training program.

We need to train soldiers

to go back and fight
against the communists.

They assigned him
to go to Thailand.

So, we followed him,
me and my two kids.

In Cambodia,
enemy forces fought their way

to within 10 miles

of the Cambodian capital
of Phnom Penh,

and US B-52 bombers
and helicopter gunships

were called in
to aid the Cambodians.

One result of the fighting

has been to create a lot more
Cambodian refugees.

More than one million people
have fled Phnom Penh.

Government welfare workers admit

the new surge is due mostly to
American bombing.

Congress has said,
"Enough of the bombing,"

and the president,
angry and disappointed,

has promised to obey the law.

The Khmer Rouge

just keep bombing

almost every night.

I told my parents,

"I live in Thailand...

Why don't you come
and live with us?"

But they're older,
so they don't want to come.

On the 15th of April 1975,

I was in Phnom Penh

to collect the payroll.

We were surrounded
by Khmer Rouge.

Every day,

we know we are closer to fall,

but we do not know when.

Everybody want to get out,

but couldn't get out.

All civilian airline
stopped flying already.

The only chance I can
get out from Phnom Penh

is through
the military airplane.

So, suddenly I received
a call from American pilot.

He said, "Ted,

do you want to go back
to see your family?"

My father-in-law said, "Son,

you must leave. Now."

When he sent me
to the airport, he knew

Cambodia is falling.

"Please take care
of my daughter."

See, that was still fresh
in my mind.

And I waved for him,

and he waved and he left.

The rocket... shelling...
everywhere...

so I had to wait to see
where the rocket fall.

The captain said, "Ted, are you ready? Let's go!"

After five years of fighting,

and 250,000 deaths,
the war in Cambodia is over.

What was left of Cambodia's
non-communist government

surrendered unconditionally
today

to the Khmer Rouge insurgents.

-My father, we lost him...
I don't know where he is.

We don't hear anything from him.

From the air,
of the city of Phnom Penh

seemed almost deserted.

There was some traffic,
but very little of it.

We were able to see a car
here and there.

There were also
tales of executions,

none of them
firsthand reports.

They closed door and
they killed people by million.

I was in Bangkok,
happy we were family,

but we know it's end of it.

We can never go back
to the country.

But then, where we go?

1975, I was, uh,

stationed with the 11th Marines,

and I was a warrant officer
at the time.

And April 30th,
we had gotten the word

that refugees would be coming
to, uh, Camp Pendleton.

We all wondered where.

There were tons of refugees.

I mean, you have thousands
and thousands of people

trying to flee for their lives.

The world's looking at you
for one.

What were you going to do?

Gerald Ford realized that this was a crisis.

They did serve us,
they supported us.

We have a moral obligation,
if anything,

to bring these people in.

But a lot of people,

including the governor
of California,

are deeply concerned

that these refugees
are being brought here.

When we have a million people

out of work... uh,
when we have uh, our own people

taxed to the hilt,

uh, I'm just very slow to just uh, open the floodgates

and say, "Come on in"

unless we provide a way
to put Americans to work.

I understand the attitude of some.

We have serious
economic problems.

But we're a country
built by immigrants.

And despite
our economic problems,

I'm convinced that the vast
majority of Americans today

want these people to have
another opportunity

to escape the probability
of death.

And therefore, I applaud those
who feel that way.

And once the commanding general

gives an order,
oh, you follow it,

whether you like it or not.
And that's what we did.

-They had 24 hours
to set up the first camp.

Digging trenches, getting coats, getting blankets,

getting cots, getting food,
whatever they had to have.

-Eighty-two
of my Marines and myself,

we helped construct tent camp
number five, up in Talega.

We had
over 50,000 people

through this space.

I can go
to any country,

but I choose to America
because I love America.

-"I pledge
allegiance to the flag

of the United States
of America..."

-We don't know much
about America,

only some music, you know,
we heard on the radio.

-Well, I like
cowboy movie, you know?

The cowboys...
the horse... fighting.

They are
America's newest immigrants,

the first refugees,
on their ways to

temporary shelter
at Camp Pendleton.

It's a long flight,

but it's comfortable.
It's OK.

I just pray to Buddha,

to bless my family

to start a new life.

When we got here,
it was like,

early in the morning

like 2 or 3 in the morning.

It was so dark and so cold.

Oh, my god!

I was scared, really.

You feel like...

lost. You know?

You just left your home.

You left all your possessions.

Whatever you carried with you,
that was it.

And come to Camp Pendleton,

and then be put in a tent
on a hard cot.

And that's tough.

Eight of us
went to US.

Me and my wife,
my three children,

my nephew
and my two cousin.

The first thing in my mind is

"How are we going to survive?"

There are still
a lot of unanswered questions

about life in America.

Where will they settle
eventually?

How will they live,
raising their children

in a new and unfamiliar place?

But there really
is no alternative.

The old familiar place
is home no more.

-We sold all our belongings.

We make like $3,000,

that's all we had.

-It was very important

to help the refugees
get settled,

and to make them feel safe.

Whatever was needed,
people were willing to help,

and there were ads
put in on the radio

and in the newspapers,
and people answered.

There was a lot of
entertainment going on.

Education classes
to teach them English,

medical services.

-The kids could go out and play.

Uh, I-I mean, all night long,
you could hear

their little voices
chirpin' out there.

It warms your heart.

It was a new life.
It was a beginning.

The road may seem long.

But I'm sure that you will find when you're diligent,

you will be happy.

And we will be proud
to have you as citizens

of the United States.
Thank you.

-We know our lives
are safe, we're safe.

Food is a lot... better.

-Food...? No...

Mashed potato...

...macaroni...

...this and that...

I couldn't take it anymore...

-It was SOS, what we called,

you know,
shit on the shingle.

You have your bread right there, you have meat,

and then you have this...
gray matter poured over it.

-No, we don't like it.

Not to me... no!

We just eat to survive,

because we don't have
anything else.

I stayed in the camp
for one month.

We heard this family left camp,
that family left camp...

And we wondered,
"When will be our turn?"

The key to getting out of the refugee camp

is having an American sponsor

who promises
at least temporary lodging.

Church groups
and the Red Cross

are trying to find sponsors
for the refugees.

Finally,

there's an announcement
that a church

in Tustin
will sponsor my family.

A sponsor
needed to find a way

to house them,
get them a job,

make sure
that they got their kids

enrolled in the school,
got transportation.

It's something like you would do
for your own kids.

Peace Lutheran Church
in Tustin sponsored us.

Pastor Dean Beaumont
and his family

always come and take care
of our daily living.

He's very, very gentle

and very kind.

-They put us in a church

temporarily, for a week.

They don't have shower, right?

So, our sponsor,
every couple days,

he took all of us to his house
and take a shower there.

I don't remember coming here.

I don't remember on the plane.

But I remember that clearly.

-God, we were so happy.

"Oh, we get to go shower!"

-Once in a while, they invite
my children and myself

for barbecue
and swimming at his pool.

-It was so happy.
Oh, so nice.

I was a custodian
at the church.

When I need something,
I just come here

to use the broom
and use supplies

to clean the church.

I asked Dean Beaumont,
my sponsor,

I said, "I don't think I can raise my family on $500/month."

Then, he found me another job

as a gas station attendant

and also salesperson
at a Builder's Emporium.

working almost 24 hours a day.

We managed to do it because

when you're poor,
when you need something,

you always, uh...
make it happen.

I went to school
behind the church there.

I remember stealing
kids' lunches.

-Me too.

I used to...
during break time,

'cause my parents were poor
and they didn't have money,

so they wouldn't
send us any food.

So, I would go in all the lunches and take snacks,

Twinkies, and Ding Dongs,
and eat them

because I was so happy.
I was so hungry.

Like, "Oh my god,
this is so yummy."

And then one day,
I got caught.

-Uh-oh.

-And they took

me to the principal's office.

I was so embarrassed but,
you know, we were hungry.

Everyone
wants the same thing.

They want the peace of mind
knowing they're safe,

knowing their children are safe,

being able to provide
and put food on the table,

clothes on the back.

Always wanting more
for your own

than that you had for yourself.

Cambodians were no different.

Sad part about it is, they
lost their country.

That doesn't leave you.

So, for my family,

American dream
is very, very important.

If you can
achieve American dream,

you can achieve any project.

We know our future's
going to be different

and we live in high hope.

-Wow!

The donut is an absolute

quintessential
American food.

You know, the ability
to pick out your own donut,

that's a great thing.

And you don't forget that
very quickly.

-We're going to get a donut.

Humungous good.

We come here
after the dentist.

-Right after the dentist.
-After the dentist.

We come here every night
to drink the best coffee

in the world.

And the best donuts too.
-Yes.

I'm like
the food porn curator.

Post it at a time where
you like, kinda want donuts.

-I'm here for my
chocolate-chocolate fix.

The average person eats

like three donuts a month.

-Take a look, very busy.

You have to do
a lot of running,

a lot of exercise here, yes.

You have to be quick,
quick, quick!

Thank you.

The doughnuts
are universally loved

from all people.

Would you like
anything else?

-That's why you can
build a business from it.

-In 1955, when
President Eisenhower

signed the Highway Act,

so you saw a proliferation
of the building of highways

across America.

-People were going to work
in their cars.

In California especially, yeah,

there wasn't a lot of
public transportation

for people to take.

Urban sprawl had
spread people out,

so they were really
on the go a lot.

-And that created a demand
for the portability of food.

And Winchell's
and the donut shop chains

answered that call.

-Time to make the donuts.

There was
a fractured donut landscape

in the US at this time.

So, Dunkin' Donuts
had the Northeast on lock.

In California,
it was really Winchell's.

Ooh, I can taste those cherries!

Go ahead,
keep it up, Winchell's.

Two donuts and coffee;

breakfast for a good many
Americans at that time.

So, we had Dunkin' Donut
that was coming west.

So, what did Mr. Winchell do?
Start expanding east.

The need
for qualified people...

at all levels
is increasing daily.

Whenever you see
a tremendous expansion,

you need hard-working,
energetic,

honest people
that will work

in those donut shops.

-Winchell's hopes
all of its employees

become long-timers.

Winchell's
training program

lasts for three months.

I learned a new skill,
to be a baker

and to run a donut shop.

After that,
they give me a store

in Balboa Peninsula,
Newport Beach.

That day when they turned
the key over to me...

just excited and...
don't know how to describe.

From the time
I came to Pendleton

until I get the key

to open the door
for the Winchell's,

it took six months.
Very fast.

-And so,
Ted entering that program,

um, is kind of ironic

because in some ways, they--
they trained the enemy.

I am so encouraged,
because I know

this my future.

I got the skill,

I know how to place order,

I know how to control
the payroll.

So, I think I can do very well.

But, the first few months
working,

people always make fun of me
because my language.

-We don't speak any English.

When people talk,

we don't even understand,
you know,

what they're saying.

They talk so fast.

In 1975,
when Ted lands,

he lands in Orange County.

Most of the people
he met had never before

laid eyes on
a person from Cambodia.

Most people
didn't know any Asians.

The manager said to me,

"Just like any place in America,

people have a strong
prejudiced feeling."

-What's happening, hot stuff?

-"If they want, they
don't like you. Don't worry...

let Christy take care
of the front counter."

She's so friendlyand
people love her!

His wife really built bridges in the community.

And over time, that donut shop,
they had allowed them

to become part of the community in a big way.

-We were so happy,
now we all work together.

We all helping each other.

They wanted a life for us.

-We go to school
on the weekdays,

and go to work in the weekends.

We were like
eight or nine years old,

selling donuts.

People would even ask,
"How old are you?"

5 a.m., 6 a.m. pouring coffee,

packing doughnuts
in pink boxes.

-I was the youngest one,

so I didn't usually
have to do a heck of a lot

besides mess around.

Sometimes
when it's slow, I'm bored,

and when I'm bored, I eat.

And one day,
I ate eight doughnuts.

Like, oh my god,
it was so bad,

but I love donuts. Like...

Till today, I love donuts.

At that time,
the plain donut was 8¢,

the cake with decoration: 10¢,

glazed: 12¢ or 15¢,

a dozen donuts is $1.20.

-Now it's like $10 a dozen!

-$12. Even more.
-I can't believe it.

This is so crazy expensive.

-But then,
the payroll was cheap.

We were working hard,

we don't hire anybody, making
good money in the family.

Asian people
try to save a lot.

Everything
is save, save, saving.

We put $5,000 down to buy
a condo in Newport Beach.

I quit the job as custodian,

I quit a job as a Builder
Emporium salesperson,

I quit the gas attendant.

When I got into donut business,
I tried to save everything.

People uses
the stir stick, right?

And then, we'd have a container,
they'd toss it there.

So, we don't throw it away.

We'd wash it.

We don't have to order again.

It saves money.

Well, people don't put
in their mouth, right?

-We appreciate the fact

that you're looking out for
every penny in this business.

However, you've got to make sure

that you take care
of our guests.

So,we would have a chit chat.

- So, I know...

I know it's not
the right way to do.

I'm so sorry!

Ted is a shrewd businessman.

Another good example of
that is a box.

Before we come
to the picture,

American people always
use a white box.

One day, I asked a salesman,

say, "How about we create
some kind of pink box?"

Because pink box
cost a lot less.

Even a dime or two dime,
we can save a lot of money.

He did that,

he saved some
on his bottom line,

and now, that's the iconic
donut box that we all know.

-Good morning to you both!

Donuts, go nuts.

-Accept this little
gooey-ooey present.

-Ah, can I get a selfie?

-Yea-- yeah.
We need doughnuts.

I really want to buy
a donut shop for myself,

instead of working for
Winchell's,

because I don't want to work

for people for my whole life.

One customer,
he bought a newspaper.

And he circled,
"Ted, this one is a good buy."

$45,000!

I bought my first
private owned donut shop,

Christy, in 1976.

I still running Winchell's.

So, we have to shop to run,
and we work double harder.

Christy, she support me
all the way.

-Sometime,
I go help Ted baking

from like eight o'clock
at night until

the next day.

And then, I take care
of the counter there until

like 2, 3 in the afternoon
until I come home.

I never had a day off. No.

Right after
we got the donut shop,

Suganthini changed her name
to "Christy".

My Chinese name called,
Bun Tek.

So, I when I got a citizenship,

I changed my name to "Ted".

"Ted" and "Christy",

more "American".

Quite a... memory.

Time go fast...

-Time to make the donuts.

When I really
start doing business,

I don't even know
who is a "Dunkin'",

I just worry about
my Christy's Donuts.

California
was kind of the epic

car culture of the time,

and because there were
so many commuters...

Dunkin' Donuts saw California
as an opportunity.

And they wanted to make
a big push into the state.

-Hi, Freddie.

-We forayed lightly
into California.

We opened one or two

in Santa Clara, San Mateo...

...and San Francisco and then
a couple in Orange County.

Donut
is American breakfast.

While they driving, they bought a few donut with coffee.

So, there's such big demand.

Every day, I look at
the business opportunity.

Fast food places, they always
chose the prime locations,

close to the freeway,

it's perfect location
for running a donut shop.

It really was
this perfect time and place

for someone to set out
to be a donut entrepreneur,

which is not like the likeliest thing to try to become.

But Ted saw the opportunity
and he made it work.

By 1979,

I got about 25 donut shops.

I took over in 1988,

we build it up step-by-step.

Some of
my customer

coming to DK, 30 years,
and they still say,

"Miss Lee,
you still look good."

"What do you eat?"
I said "Donuts."

-And--
-How long have you

been coming here?
-Oh, I would say 20,

I guess--
- 20 years?

-Yes, 20 years.

Do you remember
when I was little?

-Yes.
You and your brother?

- Yeah.
-Yes.

What keeps you
coming back here?

-It's great. I-I love--
I love the donuts.

They're good. Very good.

We're proud
of this country,

it gives us
a lot of opportunity.

When we first came in,
we see

you can make money.

This is my favorite donut...

That's your
favorite donut?

-Yeah.
With bacon!

I've spent
35 years making donuts.

-He does really well.

He still has his touch.

My father worked
every day for 25 years.

My parents did a good job
providing for all of us.

We all went to school...
and we all got married,

and pretty much, you know,
living the American dream.

San Clemente is
a really, really

great small community, um,

and there's lines
out the door,

because they're so loyal to us,

and they want to come and
supporting us.

A cinnamon roll.

There you go.

You would think by now

most people would know
about Cambodia,

would know about the genocide,

would know about
all the killing,

but there are a lot of customer,
my customer,

they approach me,
or I approach them,

talking about Cambodia.

They have no clue where,
where it is.

This place
used to be a school,

a primary school.

It's a school name Tuol Sleng,
but then

they use as a prison center.

After I stay one year
in California,

I have no news about,
from my family.

When the Khmer Rouge took over, that's it.

All communication is closed.

We're in the dark,

everybody is in the dark.

-From now-Communist Cambodia,

there was little
authenticated news today.

No Western news reports at all,

and the rest rumors
and counter-rumors.

We're just
thinking about my parents,

and Bun Chhay my cousin,

my sisters, but...

there's nothing
we can do except

cry and pray for them.

Communications are emerging

that the communist conquerors
may be planning

one of the most unusual
political, social,

and economic revolutions
in history.

That they may intend to
seal off Cambodia

from the outside world
and inside,

create a completely peasant
society

with a virtual abandonment
of the city.

When the Khmer Rouge
took over the country,

at the beginning,
we feel, "Oh!

No more war.
We're so happy."

You can see the people.

They're already
out on the streets,

waving and cheering
as Khmer Rouge arrives.

But, they
evacuate us to the village,

and then we'd start to scare.

There's no warning

and we're just
following people,

and they're just marching
lines and lines of people

out of the cities.

It's people everywhere.

Seven o'clock in the morning,

they come out all--

with all the gun
and all this black clothing.

And they say, "Everyone
from the house, get out!"

They said now

we're coming
back in three days.

We were walking
for a long time,

from early morning
until evening.

Three days later,
we realized that it's a trick.

Every city is dead.

There are no people,
only a few soldiers.

It's just a dead city,
and a dead country.

What is happening in Cambodia

is one of the strangest
forced migrations in history.

Phnom Penh was a city
of over two million people,

a population equal to
that of Cleveland, Ohio.

And now it's empty.

We overheard
that they killed

soldiers, the
government officers,

all those students,

the high educated.

Before the war started,

my dad was the principal
of Chinese school.

And so, my dad pretend
that he was uneducated.

I only think
the next hour, the next day,

because there's no hope at all.

The regime
emptied Phnom Penh

of millions of people,

forcing them into
rural labor camps,

and killing thousands.

They would make us work

from 5:00 to 5:00 every day.

Cambodia is like more than
100 degrees every day.

The sun is very, very hot.

It's very easy to get sick,
and they don't care.

Whoever lazy, kill.

You're forced
to go to work in a rice field.

They use those rice
to buy weapon

instead of feeding
their people.

The whole family,

we only have
one little bowl of rice.

We have to share
to nine people.

-It's not enough
to go on the next day,

and work in the field.

People die
right in front of me.

At night, I slept

with piles of dead bodies.

Hands and feet exposed,
it smelled terrible.

At first,
we all together,

but after like a year
and a half, they split us.

They separated
children from their family.

The family,
we're all separate.

You don't even hear
how are they doing.

Are they fine?
Are they sick?

-I ran home a few time.

My father
actually was threatened

by one of the leaders
saying that,

"If I caught your daughter
running home again,

then the family
will get killed."

with a butcher knife...

-...threatened to kill me,

because he had to do it
in front of them

to show them that he's not
encouraging me to run home.

I thought he was serious,
and so I never came home.

We were separated
for five years.

I thought maybe they're dead.

They probably thought
I was dead.

I was seven years old.

I was 11 years old.

I was 18 years old.

You would think
after 30 years, you--

you don't remember,
but you do.

That moment.

My family,
it was tragic.

My older brother died,
my younger brother died...

I am the only survivor.

Cambodia's militarism

was even too much

for its one-time ally
and neighbor, Vietnam.

Saying Cambodia threatened
its borders,

Vietnam helped
overthrow Pol Pot.

Since January 7th,
the Hanalei-backed government

has been in power.

Vietnamese troops
are everywhere,

patrol the streets,
run the city.

The soldier
came to the area and say,

"Hey, you guy are free.
Let's get out."

Oh, my God. We're gonna
have our future now.

The government of Thailand,
they send the people,

come pick us up.

They put us in a little camp,
which is like 15,000 people

and we said, "Okay,
we're not gonna die anymore."

We're like reborn.

Finally, I see light

because Cambodia, there's
no light for all those years.

We live in dark.

When we got
to the border of Thailand,

the Red Cross were there.

I don't know who these people,
who they are.

But for me, we're just happy
to see food.

My mom, my dad came
and picked me up

from children's camp.

And I don't know
how they found me,

but we just want to get out.

My parents
just want to get out.

As the wife of the President

of the United States,

I can only say
that I want to go home

and do all I can
to mobilize our people

and see that we do all
that we possibly can

to help the situation here.

Red Cross, say,

"So, we're willing
to take you out.

Which country
do you want to go?"

My dad say, "We don't want to go
anywhere but America.

I want to take all my kid
to America."

All over the world,

there are refugees

searching for freedom.

And whenever you think back
on the history of our country,

you'll recognize that our nation
is a nation of immigrants.

We're a nation of refugees.

When the plane take off,

I looked down there,
I said, "Goodbye, Cambodia.

I will not come back
to Cambodia again."

I do not know where's America?

All I know that my mom said
that Uncle Ted

are waiting for us,
and I asked her,

"Who's Uncle Ted?"

I receive a phone call

from the US Embassy in Bangkok.

My relationship with them
is very good, very close,

because I was a major
in the Army.

My family knew
that I-I survived,

and they want me
to sponsor them.

The embassy asked me,
"Ted, can you sponsor them?"

I said, "Yeah, of course!"

They all come at the same time,

my both sister,
my mother, my father,

children and everybody

come in--
in the same big group.

When we landed to LAX,

I was just looking everywhere.
Taking in everything, you know.

Big, tall people, white people, blond hair, blue eyes,

I mean, they are all so tall
and I'm like tiny little girl.

-When I see them
walk out from the airport,

I couldn't recognize them

because they are so skinny,
just...

you know,
just skin and bone.

The house,
the road, the freeway, cars,

you name it,
everything just

different, different.

I mean,
it's almost like a dream.

When we got there,
I run around in the house

and I open the refrigerator.

It's like, "Oh my god,
there's food."

And we couldn't stop eating.
We're eating all his food.

Auntie Christy
would have to buy more food,

constantly going grocery.

I remember she's saying, "God,
you guys have been starving."

First day,
I was in San Francisco.

I got a jacket,
and I got a green card.

I don't know anything.

I did not know
what's an a-a-a-an apple.

I don't know what's pennies.
I did not have anything.

When I want to go to the store, I have no money to take the bus.

I have to walk.

I did not have money
to buy a shoe.

But I-I feel like
I'm a brand-new person.

Like, uh, I'm not gonna die.

I'm so happy.

I have my own freedom.

I'm willing to work hard
for my life.

It's not too late.
I was only 17 and a half.

-I sponsor
more than 100 families.

When I first came to America,

I was willing to do anything.

Scrubbing toilets?
Sure, I didn't mind.

I just needed to survive.

-I'm looking for a job...

anything...
cleaning, or whatever...

We just get any job
that we can get.

My dad,
he's interesting to do

the donut business.

So my dad decided to
look for Ted Ngoy

because everybody goes to him.

So, everybody
come to me, they say

"Hey, let's go learn
from Uncle Ted."

So I see opportunity here,
you know,

because there's such big demand.

I had no idea
what a donut was.

Ted knew donuts, so I went
with him every day and learned.

Everybody come to learn.

And I pay for airfare,
and I-I give them food.

I give them lodging.

I just want to see them
successful.

-That very first night,
I remember,

my dad did not rest at all.

I said, "Where are you going?"

He said, "Well, I'm gonna go
with Uncle Ted to go to work."

Imagine
going to any other country

where you don't know
the culture, the language

or anything else.
How do you survive?

My father gave them
that opportunity.

We don't know nothing.

We don't know the culture,

we don't know the food,

but he allows me
to get close to him,

to learn so quick.

Ning Yen, in 1980,
he came to-to look for me.

And he said, "Uncle.
I heard about your name,

and I want to be
successful like you."

So I said, "I want to
train you to be a baker."

If you know how to bake,

then you learn how to
take care of payroll.

Then, you can run
the whole store, you know.

If you don't know how to bake,
forget it.

And he made a good donut

and he saved a lot of money.

Then, he want to open
his own store.

I opened up
Mag's Donuts in 1981.

More people
demanding shops,

me and Christy,
we talk among ourselves

then we created
a leasing program.

One store, after overhead,
it makes $7,000 net.

I lease out for $3,000,

I let the family
make $4,000.

I only lease
to Cambodian Americans.

I never imagined

that I'd be the owner
of BC donuts.

After a few years,
my parents save up

and they bought their own
first donut shop.

They have to figure out a name.

And so,
because we all love roses,

they named Rose Cafe.

My mom, my dad did help
quite a bit of people

when they settled here.

They just give them
an opportunity.

The first donut shop I work

was run by Ted Ngoy's sister,
Rose Donut.

I knew less than
10 word of English.

"Hi, hello. Thank you.
Goodbye.

Point it."
That's all I know.

And I learned
only the donut name,

but back in those times,

there's no-no-no more
than 10 item.

It's only glazed sugar,
chocolate, glaze twist,

sugar twist,
soft chocolate twist,

bear claw, apple fritter,
cinnamon roll. That's it.

I was always
thinking about expanding,

expanding, expanding.

Never have time to relax.

You know, my full mind,
every day, is thinking about

how to get more shops.

You help one family,

and they--they bring
the relatives,

and then they open up
more shops and more shops.

It spread
like wildfire, you know,

so fast so fast!

-I remember 25 donut shops,
but--

-Fifty-two.

-Oh, 52 donut shops?
-Mm.

Mm. Wow!

I think
I have 65 shops.

Ted becomes
really surprisingly wealthy

off of these,
these donut shops

that he leases
to other Cambodians.

And, at one time,
he estimates his wealth

at something
like $20 million.

We're making
good money, yeah,

because we lease
all the donut shops, you know.

Some of 'em
$3,000, $5,000 each.

-I enjoy making money here.

By 1985, I make about
$100,000 net, every month.

They call me "Donut King."

I realized
that we were pretty wealthy

when we moved
to Mission Viejo.

It's an expensive house,

it cost me about
$2 million dollars.

Wow!
This is my master bedroom.

This is the bathroom.

Unbelievable.

It's so beautiful!

It was a great house.

Three stories.

It was amazing.

At school,
I was referred to as

"the kid with the elevator."

How many people have an elevator in the house, right?

-Can you believe it?

Swimming pool
next to the lake?

Own boat dock.

It's beautiful.

My dad loves people,
and he loves entertaining.

We had parties
all the time.

Every month,
they invite us to the house,

make special food for us.

Every weekend, people come visit all the time,

non-stop.

I remember
people coming in and out.

Different people
living with us.

Strange people,
and "Why are they here, Mom?"

And there was
a Cambodian dance troupe

that was touring,

and they ran out of money.

I feel sorry
for these kids,

so I invite everybody...
50 of them,

come to live in that home.

We had to feed them
three meal,

breakfast, lunch,
and dinner.

-You can imagine
how chaotic it was.

You know, there's
people everywhere.

-I told them,
"Whatever you enjoy,

just do it!"

They jumped in the lake,
they use my boat,

pool, everything...

-My parents definitely enjoyed
the fruits of their labor.

We have fun because
Christy and I love to travel.

Life was good.

We bought
a Cadillac, but later,

Christy say, "How about
change to the Mercedes?"

So we went to Europe,

to pick up Mercedes
from Stuttgart, Germany

and we shipped to California.

And we both love it!

Wow!

What a memory.

-...has made millions of dollars from donuts.

Elizabeth Anderson
has his story.

A man
who didn't know the difference

between glazed or sprinkled,

Ning Yen now manufactures
and distributes supplies

to donut shops
throughout the Western states.

Two-thirds are owned
by Cambodians.

In '80, there was
only one distribution company.

It was very hard to get
the credit to buy their product.

So, me and Ted's nephew,
Bun Tao,

start a small,
small distribution company.

Then, I started
Santa Ana Packaging.

-He supplied all
the ingredients and boxes

to Cambodian American
donut owners.

Cambodian
store open up,

like, 100 stores every month.

Growing that fast!

Growing up in California,

I knew in, I guess,
kind of a-a naive way

that everybody who owned
a Mom-and-Pop donut shop

was Asian.

Every day,
we get a new account.

One of the struggles we had

was that we would train 'em,

and when they had enough money,

then they would go
and compete with us.

Donuts
have come full circle.

Winchell's dominated donut land with their West Coast '40s icon.

Now they're down to 300 stores

compared to 2,500
Cambodian shops.

They trained me and now they're falling one by one.

Of course, I feel--
I feel very sad,

but that's the way of life,
you know.

The competition is good
for the country.

It makes the country strong.

We have some individuals

that come over,
get successful,

and then they help others
really be successful.

And that's really
what's happened, um,

with the Cambodians.

The donut shop
is a good business

for them to start with,

because they all have kids.

Every day at 4 a.m.,

begins
baking doughnuts.

To help, the entire
family works.

We basically
work every single day,

all of us, to be successful,

to live comfortable
here in America.

There were an awful lot of Asian immigrants

that had started their own
independent donut shops.

That was sobering for me.

Dunkin'
was losing market share

to the Cambodian
donut shop owners

which could operate much, much,
uh, more efficiently,

much cheaper than the--
the big corporation could.

So they realized they just
didn't have what it takes

to dominate in that market.

Dunkin' had to make

like $50,000 a month
for survive.

A Cambodian donut shop,
make $10,000, they can survive.

Dunkin' had really been

driven out of the state.

And it was the Cambodian
donut shop owners,

the Mom-and-Pops,
that had done it.

Anything
Ted doing, very success.

My dad was very active in the Republican Party.

I have a lot of
connections to the top,

they all know me.

When we come to America,

I said, you know,
"I have to pay back."

Most important
is helping, you know,

the country grow
by doing business.

Imagine, a man with nothing,
penniless...

come to the most powerful
country in the world

and he build something.

This guy can change the market.

In 1991, President Bush Sr.

flew from the White House
to California

to give me
a Presidential Award

for achieving
American Dream.

And I felt so proud.

In Cambodia,
it's a different country...

only the rich people
can become more rich,

but the poor,
the chance to become rich

is very seldom,
like impossible.

We are on the road
on the way to Sisiphon.

I was born here in 1941.

I was born poor,

we lived in a wooden house

and the floor
is right to the dirt.

So, sometimes we see
some snakes and it's scary,

but that's how
the poor people live.

My mother, she is Chinese.

She moved to Cambodia
at 18 years old.

I was 5 years old
when my father left

and my poor mother, she didn't
speak any Khmer language.

So that make it
very hard on her.

So living is very hard because

we were lacking of everything.

I always come here
to pick up my mother.

My mother had to make
a hard living.

His mother
was smuggling goods.

At 9 a.m. when the train came,

she would go to the Thai border
to get goods...

then bring the goods
back to sell.

-She fell twice
from the train, right?

But she stand up again,
she do it again

because she had no choice.

I learned a lot from her,

the fight for survival.

She was working so hard,

she tried to save
as much as she can.

Not for her, but for
her children, the education.

-Starting from the age
of seven, eight, or nine,

we always played together.

All of Battambang
knew his name,

Ted Ngoy.

He was a quick learner,
much smarter than I was.

My mother,
I know she saved some money,

she asked me to leave home

because she wanted me
to have a brighter future.

That is how I end up
at Voltaire High School.

I must work and study hard.

I wanted to learn more things,

what the world can offer.

Suganthini was my classmate,

she sit in a couple rows
in front of me.

To me, she was so beautiful
and I fall in love.

-I-I didn't notice him,
you know,

because there's so many guys...

and we don't talk to guys.

After rain,
the whole city is so quiet.

I'd start blowing the flute...

My balcony, you know,

is right across the street
from the big villa,

that's the villa of Christy.

You cannot see
each other, but, you know,

when it's quiet,
everything quiet,

you can hear it.

One day, she sent
her maid from the villa

to send me a note saying,

"You blow a very nice flute."

We don't really speak,

we just write back and forth.

The last note
I wrote to her said,

you know what...
"How about, if some night,

I jump into your room?

She replied,

"What happens if you jump
to the wrong room?"

If you jump
into my mother's room?"

He's from a poor
family so, I... It's just...

no way that my parents
gonna let us

be together, you know?

Her father was
a very high ranking official.

A family with a lot of
influence in Cambodia.

Her father told him,

"Don't come into our house or
I'll kill you."

It was two or
three o'clock, after the rain.

I was up the roof,

I look at downstairs...
"Wow."

It's dogs and police
and security... everywhere.

I just sit there, quiet,
for maybe five minutes.

I said,
"Wow, should I go back home

or should I continue?"

It's so scary!

-The house was full of guards.
-He had guts.

Lord I'll say,
his balls are BIG!

I opened the door.

I cannot see her face,

I don't know if it's her...
or her cousin...or sister...

I have no clue.

And then he come
and grabbed my mouth, saying,

"Don't scream..."

I said,
"Don't worry, don't worry...

I will hide under your bed."

I stayed there for 45 days!

I never
would have dared to do that.

He really has no fear.

There's two
reasons that I go after her.

Number one,
she's so beautiful.

I definitely love her
with all my heart.

But secondly,
I found my life is hopeless.

So I think, "Well,
maybe this is a chance..."

If I'm not succeed,
if I get killed...

so, that's the end of my life.

But if I succeed,

then I get
a beautiful woman as my wife

and I can
climb up the ladder

and my life
is not so difficult.

-I was so young, you know,

all I wanted to be
is just with him.

We cut our fingers...

-We swear to each other
to be together forever.

We swear that
we do not betray each other.

In lifetime,
maybe chance come to you

one or two times,
that's it.

It won't happen daily.

There's a risk,
but we have to have courage.

Just don't let the good chance, you know, slip away.

What
we've done only prepares us

for what we're going to do.

Let me just say,
good habits are hard to break.

I don't remember
who took us there,

but it was amazing.

Lots of lights,
and everything was so beautiful.

It's just completely
different from where we live

and where we work.

Show and exciting.

Just like the first time
I tasted a donut.

-My dad was amazed by Las Vegas.

First trip,
we did not gamble anything,

just see the show and
a couple nights we come home.

And the second time,

I just tried
a little bit on the table.

We're
enjoying the largest increase

in real,
after tax personal income

since World War Two.

Just all
started with blackjack.

It started small.

Bet $5... $10

He learned really fast.

I didn't know anything.

I never gambled,
my family never gambled.

-He even taught me like,

"Hey, here's how
you make money."

-Not everyone
is fortunate enough

to know my techniques
of how to make a lot of money.

-You win,
you double down.

You lose,
you double down again.

He get to know
the pit boss and...

they give him
free room, free food.

Then they start
going...and going...

-The illusion has become real,

and the more real it becomes,

the more desperately
they want it.

He'd just disappear...

somewhere in the casino,
you know?

Until late at night.

Because
I'm a high roller,

they gave me 20 tickets
for Mike Tyson boxing.

I was there when
he bite Evander Holyfield.

Yeah, I was there!

So funny!

He seemed so excited,

he doesn't sleep all day,
all night.

Every time,
they invite me as a VIP.

They give me a suite,
a $2,000/night room.

-We're going to keep
the mighty engine

of this nation revved up.

-He's--he's not tired.

When you win,
you cannot sit still,

you cannot sleep.

Oh... it feels so good.

To each one of you I say,

"You ain't seen nothing yet."

We're gonna
be truthful, right?

Yeah,
he wasn't the perfect man.

He was just--

I don't know
what was wrong with him.

In three words:

excitement, money, and greed.

When he wins,
he's so happy,

and we're
all so happy for him.

But when he lost
a lot of money,

he's in a very bad mood.

Every month
he earned tens of thousands.

Too much money.

-Too much money.

He was bored
and had nothing to do.

So he would go to Las Vegas.

-It just got worse and worse
and he always hide it from me.

And one time,
we flew to Vegas...

and he dropped us off
at Circus-Circus,

gave us like 20 bucks each,
and we had a blast all day.

He got to gamble,
and we got to play games.

And so, on the way home,

he went and bought
some fish from the store.

Told my mom,
"Oh, we had so much fun!

Look at all this fish
that we got."

My grandma's like,
"Hey, these fishes

feel like frozen."

-So Grandma knew.
-Yeah.

-Who would go through
all of that,

just to get to Vegas
for seven hours?

But he did.

When I really
want to gamble, I disappear.

I pretend to order
supply or collect money,

but then I fly to Las Vegas.

-I go look for him many times.

Because
she knows which casinos

are his favorite
casinos to go to.

My mom would drop me off
and run in there,

looking for him.

One time in The Mirage,

I saw them come in...

I went behind
the slot machines.

I feel so much pain,

but I cannot show my face.

-We would finally find him,

drive him back home,
and you know,

then he would
cause a lot of trouble.

We'd fight.

He throw things,
he'd break

the coffee table,
glass and stuff, you know.

Kick the door and this,
and that...

they'd all go hiding
in their room.

It's a devil,
it's a monster.

It's a monster in me.

-I always forgave him,

but then he never stopped.

He'd do it again... and again...
and again.

It just draws
you to go to the table.

You cannot say no.

You took my money,
I want to chase my money back.

Badly!

If I lose $100, I want to get
$200 or $300 back.

The more you chase,
the more it's gone.

The bad and compulsive gamblers,

they do whatever it takes

to get money
and go to the table.

-Ted said,
"Okay, you want a store,

you gotta have
$20,000 to deposit

in order for me
to find a store for you.

People
trust me at that time.

Whatever I say to them,
of course they listened to me

because people need the shop.

And if I need $20,000...

they will give me $20,000.

You know to,
to save for $10,000,

$20,000, it's not easy.

I work from 7 a.m. from
to like 10 o'clock at night.

Every day
I make a thousand shirt.

I make $10 a day.

I've worked so hard
for three years

in order to save the $20,000
to deposit to Ted Ngoy.

I need money to gamble

because I have no more money.

The money I collect,

already gone.

So, I even borrow money
from refinancing my house.

He cheat all these people.

You can say he help, but
he want to get something back.

Not free at all,

that's why easy come, easy go.

Cambodian community is
very tight knit, very small.

Everyone knew he was a gambler.

He would do
anything for money.

He used to go
to the donut shops and said,

"Let me borrow 50,000,

and I will pay you back
next month.

If I don't, then
you can have the donut shop."

So, when he doesn't pay back,

the donut shop
belongs to them, now.

It doesn't belong
to my dad or my mom anymore.

And my mom never knew this.

He forged
my signature all the time,

even on my own account.

What can I do?

If I report it,
he goes to jail, right?

I-I cannot do that.

I just have to live with it.

We lost all these donut shops

because of gambling.

And she didn't have
control over that.

-One day, my parents said, uh,

"Hey, I need you to
go to Bakersfield

or something tomorrow with us.

We're selling
the last donut shop,

and it's in your name."

The next day, um,

we drove up there,
met some Cambodian people,

and they paid us in cash,
$85,000.

We jumped in the car
and started driving home.

My son drove
the car so fast...

-I was going
maybe 60 or something.

-There's a police car
in the front...

I told my son,
"Don't ever pass that car."

Like,
I'm going the speed limit.

So, you know,
what's the big deal?

-He didn't listen,
he's too young,

and he passed...

He pulled us over,

and they had
their guns drawn at us.

We're like,
"What the hell is going on?"

They handcuffed
all three of us

and took us
to the CHP substation,

and we're sitting there,
you know, waiting, waiting.

I didn't make payment
for the last six months.

So, they report
that car is a stolen car.

-In the meantime,
there's $85,000

in a Carl's Jr. brown paper bag
in the back, in the trunk.

My parents, you know,
were scared to say anything

because obviously, who walks
around with $85,000 in cash?

-After everything is clear,

I said,
"I have cash in the trunk."

-Five minutes later,
someone calls back and says,

"Yeah, there's--there's
no money in the trunk."

I remember seeing my mom just
bust out in tears.

I really need
that money, and it's gone.

He lost all his donut shops, he filed bankrupt.

The house on the lake went into foreclosure.

We own it
for nine or ten years,

and they had to walk away
from it, gave it all up.

-I miss this big house so much.

It's hard to believe

that he could
allow that to happen

when he came to
this country with nothing,

you know, absolutely nothing.

What a pity!
I yelled at him in my heart.

I'm his cousin,
so I can do this.

I told him,
"You're foolish... "

"You were a millionaire,
a mogul."

-My parents
went back to Cambodia.

They were done.

A lot of
thing come back to me.

Before the war,

Cambodia
is a beautiful country,

everywhere is green...

It reminds me of my childhood,

the love story
that I have with Christy,

and I thought
I can change myself.

We've been
together for so long

and we have
a lot of things together.

So, if I leave him...

what--what I'm going to do,
you know?

I've never been by myself.

My mom came to visit us.

And my dad had an affair.

I denied it, I said, "No..."

but let's be honest...

I do have a little affair.

Why do I hang out with him for so long, you know?

For... for what?

Finally, that's the last
thing for me.

I went to court here
to file divorce.

My dad was on his own.

We didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore.

Took care of our mom and,
you know,

she's been through a lot.
A lot.

I got cursed from God,

because I broken
my agreement with her.

I lost everything.

Believe me... everything.

That's one chili,
two chilies,

three chilies,
four chilies.

-The more the better.

-Spicy.

Literally, no
measurements, just eyeballing.

When you want
measurement, I cannot do it.

Because that's how I cook.

Home cooking
is the best cooking.

I'm super lucky
to have my mom.

She'll like,
get up if she's sleeping

or tired or whatever,

just to make sure
that I'm well fed.

And I think that's like
definitely her love language.

It's food.

-When you care someone,
you--you always,

you know, want to make--
make sure, you know,

like good food for them.
Take good care of them.

You know my mom,
she's a certain type of way.

She's a fighter.

DK'S Donut, it was owned by Mayly's dad's parents.

They bought the store in 1981.

I took over 1988 with
my ex-husband, Mayly's dad.

-Today, I'm 56,

and I still put
10 to 12 hour every day.

I get up, my knees hurt.

My hands hurt.

But I say, I have to
stand up and go, you know.

The store like, need me.

I don't want my kid
to work hard like me.

-My parents,
they want to give us everything

that they didn't have.

We have a house,
we have cars,

I got to go to a private
Catholic school.

I want my kid
to have good education

because I never been
to any school at all.

I went to
CST from 2008 to 2012.

And I came back, and my brother and my mom were like,

"Hey, we need some help at DK's, do you wanna come help us?"

And I thought DK's was always
gonna be Plan B.

The old generation,

back in my time,

80% already retired.

They don't
want to do it anymore.

I told my kid, I said,
"Can you guys do it?

Please, Mom need to take off."

A lot of the old donut shops

with the original
first-generation owners,

they're all run-down.

The signs are all yellow.

Just looks
very old and outdated.

I'll do one of the glazed.

Yeah, I'll do the maple one

and then the chocolate one.

-That's it.

Before when I was younger,

I would always
love doing this.

And then, I actually
started working here,

and then I hated doing this.

But, um, it's not that bad.

It's just, you know, tedious.

Gives me like,
you know, memories

like flashbacks and stuff
like that when I was younger.

Because when I was five,
me and my brother,

we would, used to like,
make boxes together.

And so, I would
try to race him.

That cheap labor force

that the Mom-and-Pops
had in the 1970s, 1980s,

has kind of gone away.

-The donut business
is not an easy business.

I was introduced
to the shop very young.

I can remember my dad
picking me up from school,

kindergarten, and bringing me
here to come help him.

I honestly resented my
parents for that.

Right now,
I'm at junior college.

I think everyone's kind of
rooting for me to take it over.

But of course, I kind of
wanna do other things too.

So right now, I'm just
trying to figure it out.

-In some ways
the Cambodian donut shop owners

have been victims
of their own success.

Their children
are well educated.

They're professionals

and they don't want to
be in the kitchen

baking donuts anymore.

So, it's been very hard
for the Mom-and-Pops

to continue that legacy
because of that.

-I do think there is
more opportunity

in massing together
and building a brand

than there is in lot of
these independent operations.

Dunkin's
moved in across the street,

literally right across
the street from Roses,

and we were very worried.

This time, Dunkin'

is coming back swinging.

They're trying to
establish a huge footprint,

which is a big difference from
their first push in the 1980s.

-Dunkin Donuts just opened here,

there is a line
all the way down the street.

They're opening
tons and tons of locations

to try to establish that
critical mass that's necessary

for a big chain
to survive in California.

-We're gonna open up
about 50 of those this year.

-And the question
all the time is,

"When are you
going to California?"

-And so far, this year,
Dunkin's has surged

higher and higher.

-The consumer
and the franchisees

are responding
incredibly well to this.

-We've had competitors move in,
but they weren't donut shops.

-There's a lot more Easterners
now in California,

people who are
addicted to Dunkin' coffee

and to the brand
and to its donuts.

And it had that name,

it had the money.

And I was concerned,
I was very concerned.

-Your Money Matters,
and your favorite

Mom-and-Pop shop
may be in danger--

A local donut shop owner

now fearing for
the life of his business.

-We are seeing growth,

uh, hundreds of stores
every year.

Some independents
have closed down

based on our investigation,

but we're taking share
from those independents.

The first day
that they opened, actually...

that was our busiest day
in history.

Still to this day.

We had customers
wait in a long line

that wrapped around the building
just to show us support.

-I passed Krispy Kreme
and Dunkin' Donut to come here.

I was like,
"Oh my goodness,"

like we needed
more people that day.

It was crazy.

-These doughnuts are amazing.
Seriously.

Usually
we're busy for a couple hours

like, nonstop,
but it was like the whole day.

Honestly, it makes me
starts crying every time,

like, "Hoo."

One of the
reasons that Mom-and-Pops

have been able to hang on

against this corporate
onslaught from big brands

like Dunkin' Donuts
is that the community

really has come out
and supported them.

I've been coming to Roses

since 1995.

I prefer to come here
than any other donut store.

There are no donuts
better than Roses.

And we're
still kicking it even with

like all these other
corporations moving in--

I know Starbucks moved in
and we're still around.

The Habit Grill moved in,
we're still around.

Dunkin's moved in,

we're still around.

When we first came in,

we see a lot of opportunity.

Easy for us to just work hard, work hard...

make money, you know?

Now it's the 21st century,

I think the donut shop

has a lot of room to grow.

But you have
to be willing to change.

-And so, I came back,
and I worked.

And I started to think

that to really
support my family,

there needed to be
something innovative

to separate it from being

just this normal
donut shop on the corner.

Nowadays you have to upgrade your store,

and your food.

I really
wanted to rebrand DK's.

So I started
off simply with the logo.

And then with the logo,
it was like,

"Why don't we
use social media?"

Glaze waterfall.
Instagrammable donuts.

Thanks for
all the hearts, guys.

And, "Oh, let's start
creating...

all these new
experience type things."

We have over 120 different
kinds of donuts in the showcase.

-I love the donuts.
It's so fresh.

You like one more?

-Yeah, this guy right here,
he helped me.

Shelby!

-I just saw you
on live and I was like...

-I needed donuts.

So that makes
you really want a donut?

Yeah, it did. My mom
wanted a cinnamon roll too.

-Oh, my god, your mom.

-Yeah.
-Your mom was watching?

-Yeah.

Around 2013-ish,
DK's just exploded.

And it happened overnight.

-Yeah.

-Thank you very much.
-Thank you.

I am a police officer,

so we have to eat donuts.

You can tell.

Svelte.

We just took advantage of

the demand of this amazing
donut-croissant pastry.

They've been queuing for hours under the rain,

all for a taste of
the latest food craze

in New York: the cronut.

-The cronut?

-The cronut craze
is sweeping New York City.

But there's only one place

to get your hands on this sweet, flaky croissant-doughnut hybrid:

Dominic Anzel's bakery
in Manhattan.

Mayly, she told me,

"Okay, Mom,
there's a guy from Thrillist.

Which is, I don't know
who is Thrillist.

"Just pack six cronut.
He will pick it up."

And I say, "Mayly,
I haven't make money yet."

So, she said, "Mom, just
make six and give it to him.

He will be here
at 10 o'clock."

This guy is so rude,
he not even say thank you.

I didn't get paid.

The next morning,
he released the news:

"The cronut has
arrived to Santa Monica."

The phone
just would not stop ringing.

It's like, "Do you have this?
Do you have this?

The cronut."

And I immediately called my family, and I'm like,

"Something's happening."

I was like,
"I think I did something."

-I told Mayly,
"Come on. Let's go for it.

We don't have much chance.
We hit jackpot.

We have to work hard, okay?
Don't go anywhere.

Don't take vacation.
Just try it."

-And then, Dominic Anzel,

who was the originator
of the cronut,

sent us
a cease-and-desist letter.

And, you know,
my mom and I were like,

"We didn't steal your recipe."

I make my own recipe cream,

and everybody like it.

And there's no teacher at all.

This is from my mind,

and nobody
can copy that cream.

We have people coming
from all over the world

just to have that cronut.

When I walk out from the DK,
my feet is like flying.

When I sleep, my hand
still squeezing the cream,

still feeling the cream.

After that, I'd really
appreciate Mayly's,

"Oh, you did it right."

We need more donut boxes.

Alright.

I never intended to take over
the business at all.

I got a college degree
in marketing.

And that helped me build
the business a little bit.

We try to make things
pleasing to the eye

because people
want to take pictures

and post it
on their social media.

That's a unicorn donut,

fruity pebble,

Cookie Monster.

I'm always
looking for inspiration

anywhere I can find it.

And I was just on my phone.
Um, I saw the "poopy guy,"

smiling, looking into my eyes,

and I never thought
in my wildest dream

that it would be
the most popular donut to date.

There's
all of this innovation

in the donut space right now
where people are

really bringing this creativity

to the process
of making donuts.

And people are responding.

It's like,
hip to go get a donut.

Donut lover's
paradise in downtown LA.

The second
annual Donut Festival.

More than 3,000
tickets to this event presold.

Everyone
has a favorite donut

and donut shop.

But at this festival,

bakers from
the West Side to Whittier

bring their wares to you.

-I've eaten so much donut today,
I'm gonna be fat.

Okay.
Go get your box.

Who eats donuts?

Well, even the skinny girls
eat donuts.

Even the bodybuilders
eat donuts.

People who work
at the city eat donuts.

Everybody eats donuts,

whether they'd
like to admit it or not.

Go ahead.

-Any ingredient under the sun...

is on a donut today.

And so, you're seeing
a whole new industry evolve

of gourmet doughnut shops
throughout the United States.

If bacon chips
and maple flavoring

is something
the consumer wants,

we're never too arrogant
not to borrow a great idea.

Donuts are my life.

It's not easy.

It's hard work.

The younger
generation's taken over.

In the '80s, it just your
old traditional doughnuts.

It's different now,

so you have to
step up a few notches

in order to survive.

-Hey, what's up guys,

I'm here at
DK's Donuts and Bakery

in San Monica, California.

And I have a very special guest.

This person
is my Great-Uncle Ted.

He is a legend. Here he is.

-Hello.

He is here
all the way from Cambodia.

Ted, this guy right here,

-opened up 70 donut shops

up and down southern
and northern California.

And he gave Cambodian refugees
a chance

to really make it in America.

His gambling, borrowing,

I can't be mad at him.

because of how much
he helped me before.

-Yeah, I've always
wanted to like,

meet him in real life.

Find out, like,
what he looks like in person

and like, you know,
try to ask him questions

about like, the truth
behind all these stories

and stuff like that.

Others felt the same way.

Let bygones be bygones.

Two young men making
the donuts...

Two young... 80 years old.

-This is the Chocolate Poop
Emoji Donut.

-Ahh.

People just look at donuts

as just being a sweet treat.

To us, it's more than that.

To me,
I'm very grateful for him.

Otherwise,
a lot of refugees come here,

they-- they don't have a job,

they don't know what to do.

Uncle Ted brought us here,

and I don't think we would be
owning donut shops.

And we may not even able to
come out from Red Cross

in the camp in Thailand.

I feel
like I have a nightmare.

It's not real at all.

The life that I have now
is real,

and I never want to
think about that nightmare.

I think about
from now to the future.

I'm proud of myself
that I did everything,

I built everything,

and I'm very success now.

-Chuong, can I have
a glazed donut?

Well, I never have this...

so... I want to try it.

-I gotta take a little bit of
what my parents did,

you know, that American dream,
that hustle,

and really like make them proud

and see how far
can we take this?

Everybody,
try Donut King's donut!

-I mean, this is all,
the footprint

of what my dad provided,

from first generation to--
second or third generation.

It all evolves, but...

it wouldn't be here
without my dad.

-Donut time!

I think it's very
important for me

to say "hi" to everybody

and--and say, "I'm sorry."

I have remorse
for hurting them.

-When I took
over the Rose Donut,

Mhm.

-I was working
like 18 hours a day.

Yeah, I know. I know.

Right now,
I feel very peaceful.

I want to be a regular,
ordinary person.

I want to live humble,
to live simple,

until I'm gone from this earth.

The United States has had

a long tradition of opening its doors to immigrants

from all countries.

We're a country
built by immigrants

from all areas of the world.

Someone
told me that there's

5,000 private donut shops,

but Cambodians
own 95% of them.

So, I'm so proud
of my countrymen.

In one way or another,

all of us are immigrants,

and the strength of America
over the years

has been our diversity.

And the people
that we're welcoming today

are individuals who can
contribute significantly

to our society in the future.

They are people of talent.
They are industrious.

They are individuals
who want freedom.

And I believe
they will make a contribution,

now and in the future,
to a better America.