Every measurement and cut has to be precise. For the man behind the counter, a single mistake can mean restarting the entire process.
On National Donut Day, bakers around the country must prepare their sweets for customers seeking free and special treats. It’s a lot of pressure, but it’s not all dreadful.
The day was born out of World War I, during which women who volunteered for the Salvation Army made donuts for soldiers overseas. Known as the “donut lassies,” these women’s work was used to boost morale among soldiers. This would be continued by the Red Cross during World War II, and the day has remained.
“It’s just a big day for donuts, everyone loves donuts,” said Hank Khauo, manager of Donut Island in Long Beach on 3401 Cherry Avenue.
National Donut Day is a more recent experience for Khauo, viewing it as another day of work that’s fun.
Donut Island is one of many stores that will be recognizing the sweet holiday on Friday. Besides giving free donuts to children who step through their doors, Khauo said that the company the store buys flour from will be donating a portion of their proceeds to The Salvation Army.
Chain stores like Dunkin’ Donuts and Krispy Kreme are expected to offer free donuts during the day, but so will local stores, such as Sweet Retreat Donuts on 924 Pacific Coast Highway.
“We’re trying to put out every single donut [type] we make,” Dary Chan, Cal State Long Beach alumnus and owner of Sweet Retreat, said.”We’re trying to give out free donuts because most people know [the day] for that.”
A health care administration major during his time at The Beach, Chan has been running the store since August 2015 alongside his wife, whom he met at CSULB. After graduating, he found work at an orthopedic center at the University of California, Los Angeles.
“I’ve kind of been working in donut shops in and out since I was a kid,” Chan said.
His family has been involved in making and selling donuts since he was a child; his sister previously owned a store of her in Compton. After getting tired of making a two hour trip to and from UCLA every day, Chan decided to leave his job, and he turned a vacated donut shop into Sweet Retreat Donuts.
“Basically, I’m here every day,” Chan said. “I have to be here every day to raise it up and say ‘hey, the old owner made some mistakes, but we’re here now.’”
As an owner, his responsibilities include baking and selling donuts, maintaining equipment correctly, managing schedules and driving to Los Angeles to buy supplies.
“There are no vacations. There’s no sick day [for me]. If it’s a sick day, I have to close it up because I’m the only baker,” Chan said.
When your living depends on making donuts that satisfy customers, making the donuts properly is crucial.
“It’s a skill you have to master. It’s a long process,” Chan said. “When it comes to donuts it’s about time and temperature.”
For Chan, it took years of practice and learning from five different people to get to where he is now. He mentions that small mistakes like adding too much or too little water to the flour and cutting the donut without measuring properly can ruin the entire product.
“So it’s a little difficult,” Chan laughed. “It all depends on you.”
To Chan, Sweet Retreat Donuts is like home. Family is in the shop with him, and the sense of community is too. Many of the store’s customers are there every day, so he recognizes some of them by name and more of them by their faces. Some relationships with customers have become “almost like family,” having been invited to birthdays for which they’ve provided sweet snacks.
“Most people think the area is dangerous, but the people are really friendly. Everybody’s really respectful and we love them.”
Describing himself and his wife as “a couple of balls of joy,” they welcome all to their store.
“Come with an appetite and enjoy the donuts,” Chan said.