[8], After a particularly devastating gambling loss in 1990, Ngoy flew to Washington, D.C. and joined a Buddhist monastery where he spent a month meditating. He bought donut shop after donut shop, leasing them to other Cambodian immigrants, who ran the stores with their families, and taking a monthly cut of each store's profits. His party did poorly in the 1993 and 1998 parliamentary elections, but Prime Minister Hun Sen made him an advisor on commerce and agriculture. Ngoy bought stores in Fullerton, Anaheim, Anaheim Hills and Buena Park over the next year. He became tired running doughnut shops on his own and decided to train and lease shops to his relatives and employ Cambodian refugees. Then I went to America, Ngoy said, and created the doughnut world.. At each stop, they set up the business and trained the families who leased it. Ted worked as the church janitor but he soon realised earning $500 a month wouldn't be enough to support his family. When he lost their money he would just sign over the shop to them - without telling Christy, whose signature he forged. No days off. He has to start a new life.. If you're enjoying this article, you'll love my daily morning newsletter, How To LA. While he was recovering in hospital, Suganthini also made an attempt on her life. In 1975, Ngoy fled the Khmer Rouge with his wife and three . He credits his Christian faith with finally curing his gambling addiction, although he confesses he liked to bet on football games until last year. Gu's documentary, Dear reader, we're asking you to help us keep local news available for all. They arranged a meeting for the couple at a relatives house, where Ngoy was expected to formally end their romance. His few shirts and pants hang from a clothesline. We had an instant connection and it felt like we were meant to be doing this story together. The film details how Ngoy fled Cambodia with his family during the Vietnam War and later went on to build a donut shop empire, only to lose it all because of a gambling addiction. But then one of Suganthini's servants appeared at his door with a reply. in Tustin sponsored the family, allowing them to live in the church where Ted worked as a janitor. One night in a pouring rain, Ngoy scaled a coconut tree beside the wall surrounding her home. Where are they now?. Ted liked Cadillacs; Christy preferred Mercedes-Benz convertibles. I cry. Nearly every independent donut shop in every Southern California mini-mall hides a story and many of them start with an unlikely impresario, a Cambodian refugee named Ted Ngoy. "What happens if I decide to jump into your room?" What drew you to Teds story at the start?Finding out about his story, its fascinating a guy who comes here penniless and becomes a Donut King. Chuong Lee Tao passed down DKs Donuts in Santa Monica to her daughter Mayly Tao, who updated the shop with a vast menu and a worldwide social media following. His gesture went unreciprocated for days. At 35, Ngoy had already climbed out of poverty and into privilege once. I was addicted to a feeling, and money was simply the needle that delivered the toxic dose," he writes in his autobiography, also called The Donut King. I never will be able to pay back. Upon his return to Orange County, Ngoy began gambling harder than ever stating "Monks cannot help me, Buddha cannot help me. One of Ngoy's first jobs in the US was as a service station attendant. buy a ticket When Christy's parents eventually discovered the ruse, they were furious. Alongside doughnuts, they sell imported American goods - everything from Pop-Tarts to Starbucks Frappucinos. Huge numbers of Cambodian refugees were arriving in California. And then we started communicating, bringing back and forth the messages," Ted says. Besides, he reasoned, as a politician he would not be able to gamble. "[1], Ted Ngoy was born in the Cambodian village of Sisophon near the country's border with Thailand. Boozy Dole Whips. The Donut King is a 2020 American documentary film which tells the life story of California donut shop owner Ted Ngoy. And she was heavily chaperoned. The Donut King diretcor Alice Gu talks about what led her to make a film about Ted Ngoy, her first intro to the phenomenon of Cambodian donut shops and how she got a Wu-Tang song in the score. The first few times he and Christy visited, on early family holidays, everything went well: they watched a magic show, they saw Elvis perform. "Ultimately, this is a story of a guy who came to the country with nothing, and with some hustle, and dreams, and a little luck, really made quite a charmed life for himself.". Eventually Cambodians owned so many doughnut shops in California that they dominated the market, pushing Winchell's into second place. "Cambodian people owe them a lot.". Ted Ngoy (born Bun Tek Ngoy; 1942) is a Cambodian American entrepreneur and former owner of a chain of doughnut shops in California. "It's impossible to explain that money had nothing to do with it. That was super mind blowing for me to hear the political flip-flop and really insightful about another time when politics were more civil and there could be discussion. But then Ted discovered that the tiny room where he lodged, on the fourth floor of a walk-up apartment block, overlooked Suganthini's villa. Designers Andrew Hem and Charlie Le were awarded a SWSW Film special jury recognition for their poster design of The Donut King in 2020. "The note said, 'I appreciate you blowing the flute. That is because I had a buttermilk bar about 30 seconds out of the fryer with fresh glaze on it. (Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment). They were moving their capital and know-how into liquor stores, markets and fast-food restaurants. When the couple recovered, her parents finally allowed them to marry. Even in gambling. They had a vacation home in Big Bear and a time share in Acapulco. When he completed his three-month training, Winchell's gave him a shop to run on Balboa Pier, a tourist spot on the Newport peninsula not far from Tustin. They cried and prayed for the family they had left behind. It was a humbling experience, and the lowest point in his life. (Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment) When you first reached out to Ted, it. "a short-lived comeback in Sacramento in 2002," the Massachusetts-based company didn't return to the Golden State This caused tension in the Ngoy household, being the center of many arguments between Ngoy and his wife. I told them I'm very sorry 1,000 times. "I never back down. Ted and Christy are divorced. "[1] He says his Christian faith ultimately helped him abandon the habit. She became Christy. "But what shall we do in the morning? The world moves so quickly now, but I do believe that it is still real and it is still possible. He had no way of making a living until a Chinese contact from better days asked him to help out with a real estate deal. Ted Ngoy: Yeah. Doing this film was really an exploration for me of understanding where you come from. The Ngoys helped hundreds of refugees find housing and apply for Social Security cards. "Using money to provide for others is a feeling as powerful as any drug," he later wrote. This is going to happen.'". Gab Chabrn reflects on growing up in L.A. in a Latino home that doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving and the traditions they formed instead. His story has been told through different angles in a couple of articles. He tasted his first donut at a Tustin gas station, trained as a baker in a La Mirada Winchells and ran his own Winchells store in the Balboa Peninsula. Phnom Penh Post They wont trust you, he said. He had gotten his first taste of that passion years earlier. To understand the politics, the Republican party at the time was a very anticommunist party. , chronicles Ngoy's thrill-of-victory/agony-of-defeat rollercoaster ride through the American Dream immigration, capitalism, history, hubris, romance, addiction, family and food. He co-signed loans for supplies and equipment. "'You want to tell my story? "Growing up, when you look on the screen, there's not a lot of Asian representation. Every evening, he sat by his open window and played the flute. On hearing the music float across the quiet city, Suganthini's mother remarked that whoever was playing must be in love. These are kids who are American educated. Near the station was a doughnut shop. Their youngest son Chris drove them there to pick up the money - but it went horribly wrong. In doing the research and finding that it was President [Gerald] Ford who issued the executive order to receive the refugees, a Republican president that was a huge surprise to me given that during the time that we were making this film we were hearing Donald Trumps rhetoric. It's something Ted feels a bit bad about. One night, he. Eventually he and Christy were left with just one doughnut shop, which they decided to sell. Cambodia was planning its first elections in 1993, and well-to-do emigres from California were returning to run for office. Since many of them had gotten their start in the business and the United States thanks to Ngoy, they were happy to help. Suganthini and her mother heard the music. Ted Ngoy, who was known as the doughnut king, lives in Phnom Penh. [10] Ngoy was hesitant to return to California for the film; he was estranged from his children and former friends. Everybody cry," he said. Ngoy would often visit Las Vegas for a period of a week, unbeknownst to his wife. in Pasadena, COVID-19 has hit her store and most other shops hard. I believed him a thousand times, she said. Ngoy bought his first doughnut shop from a couple who was retiring. Long hours. Word spread. [4], Despite the wealth he had amassed and his importance within his community, Ngoy felt dissatisfied, remarking that he had "No political life, no religious life, just work, work. 2023 Southern California Public Radio - All Rights Reserved, Rising Egg Prices Are For The Birds. At the height of his success in the US he had been an ardent Republican, and an enthusiastic fundraiser for the party. Yes, you read that right. "It made me homesick," says Ted. Once, I said I would die if something happened to him, Christy said of her ex-husband. NICK STREET Channy is a stocky man in his mid-forties, and he runs USA Donut in Boeung Keng Kang with his wife. Ngoy tried Gamblers Anonymous. During the week they went to school, where sometimes they were so hungry they stole snacks from other kids' lunchboxes. [8], Author Ryka Aoki describes Ngoy as legend in our Asian-American community and inspiration for her award-winning novel Light From Uncommon Stars for both his stealing books process and the legacy of Cambodian-American donut shops in Southern California. Ted negotiated well and got a good commission. Tell me more about how they connected to the local community.Ted came in the 70s and it was quite homogeneously white in Orange County at the time and a lot of people had never seen an Asian person, much less heard of a place called Cambodia. Maybe Its Time To Raise Backyard Chickens, Catch A Wave In The Booming South Bay Food Scene: Here Are 11 New Restaurants To Try, Don't Celebrate Thanksgiving? Inspired by the economic success of Taiwan, Ted decided to lobby the US for "most favoured nation" status, which would open the door to foreign investment. 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