Ted Ngoy stands in front of his first independent donut shop in La Habra, named after his wife Christy Ngoy. ", "I was like, 'What on earth makes this Cambodian? "I just wanted to raise pigs and chickens and have enough meat and eggs to take to . Oh, and stop for a donut and say "hi.". Then, he lost it all. "I'd want [people] to know about not only the journey of the donut itself but the story of the people behind it, the people making the donuts," Tao says. I say, Ted, who are you? I really dont know.. The family members worked 17 hours a day and saved for a year. Ngoy bought his first doughnut shop from a couple who was retiring. [9], Ngoy is the subject of the 2020 documentary film The Donut King. "It went like fire on the hill, so fast," says Ted. Their youngest son Chris drove them there to pick up the money - but it went horribly wrong. And I thought, How could that be? Hes passed away now so I cant talk to him about it, but it was a learning experience for me about my parents relationship with politics. He had spent all his money on electioneering and on a failed attempt to introduce a new type of hybridised rice, which he believed would improve yields. Ted Ngoy was reaping rewards of that success. He was, however, invited to become a government adviser on commerce and agriculture. Word spread. Her daughter, Mayly Tao, has taken over the reigns of DK's. Ngoy fled with his wife, three young children, two cousins and a nephew to the United States in 1975. "I achieved my American dream," Ted says. It was a strategy that ended up working for them. Over four years nearly two million Cambodians were either executed, or died of starvation, disease and overwork. Doughnut shops were easy to run. "We were happy - until the gambling came to wreck my life. Working all hours, Ted and Christy knew very little about what was happening back home in Cambodia, but what they heard was bad. He turned down a job as a security guard because it required standing for eight hours. Her parents wanted nothing to do with him. Along with thousands of other Cambodian refugees, the Ngoys ended up at Camp Pendleton. Gu first needed to find Ted Ngoy but she had no idea how to do it. The family worked 12 to 17 hours a day, with all hands on deck. "It is the purest form of risk-taking, the distilled anxiety and thrill behind every business decision and bold declaration of love," he writes in his autobiography. Yeah, My Family Doesn't Either, Soup Dumplings, Kimchi Burritos And More Fast, Cheap Eats In Glendale, At Masarap Cafe, West African and Filipino Cuisines Find Their Pairing, Drinking At Disneyland? A day before he left, his eldest son said if you have $3.2 million you can buy it. She would discover big losses, and they would argue, sending their children running to their rooms. In 1975, Ngoy fled the Khmer Rouge with his wife and three children to Camp Pendleton. Some of his relationships didnt end well. Christy was in the front and made a lot of inroads with the community and built a lot of bridges. People love her and shes beautiful. Over the next few years, he went back every month or so, seeing Tom Jones, Diana Ross and Wayne Newton -- and betting ever-larger sums. called "New documentary 'The Donut King' follows Cambodian refugee Ted Ngoy's journey to multi-million dollar empire", "Review: A Shakespearean SoCal tragedy, 'The Donut King' charts the rise and fall of Ted Ngoy", "Director Alice Gu Wants You to Meet The Donut King", "The Donut King who went full circle - from rags to riches, twice", "Review: The Donut King, a sweet documentary that doesn't tell the hole truth", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Donut_King&oldid=1131760803, This page was last edited on 5 January 2023, at 16:51. California Sunday "The more you chase, the more it's gone," he says in a new documentary about his rise and fall, called The Donut King. Soldiers and dogs guarded the mansion. He hired his wife and nephew. Doughnuts offered an escape from years of welfare dependency. I think there's nothing wrong for them to lie to the embassy because everybody needs a chance to survive. He enjoyed meeting the younger generation of doughnut makers, who are innovating and inventing new flavours. When he was working in the donut shop, he went to his sponsor and said he was having a hard time. The Donut King is a 2020 American documentary film which tells the life story of California donut shop owner Ted Ngoy. He was very surprised that anybody would find him and want to tell his stories. Money, doughnuts, sleep.. Once, I said I would die if something happened to him, Christy said of her ex-husband. But the situation at home was increasingly dangerous and on his last trip, in April 1975, the capital fell. Then he flew to a monastery in the Thai countryside. "Everybody's happy to see me now, because I changed from the bad guy to the good guy.". They told him Winchells Donuts trained store managers. Then Ngoy would fly to Las Vegas without telling her, sometimes staying as long as a week. He began to disappear off to Las Vegas for days, losing $5,000, $7,000 a game, and neglecting his family and his doughnut empire. He found a second job at a gas station. in Tustin sponsored the family, allowing them to live in the church where Ted worked as a janitor. Ted had met Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr., [Richard] Nixon. The doughnut king landed at LAX with $50 in his pocket. Ted did a lot of the baking at night, with his youngest son, Chris, collecting a light dusting of flour as he slept beside him in the kitchen. 'How I got rich beating men at their own game'. The next day, he flew back to Los Angeles. "When Alice called me, she described something that I have always wanted to tell but never thought that it would get picked up anywhere," Tao says. Every weekday, you'll get fresh, community-driven stories that catch you up with our independent local news. We had an instant connection and it felt like we were meant to be doing this story together. His sponsor told him people will have their prejudices but they mean well. He says his gambling is under control -- though he has no money with which to test this will power. "He's like, 'You know what? The details that aren't in the movie are even crazier. Aside from what Don't die. The son of a peddler had no chance with such a girl, no right even to think of loving her. Christy has remarried and lives in Lake Forest, not far from their three adult children, who all live in Orange County. He cut his chest sliding under barbed wire. Casino operators gave Ngoy free rooms, food, airfare and front-row seats to prize fights. . Will Orange County's Fledgling Clean Power Agency Survive? From the wall, he leaped onto the roof and crawled through an open window. Ted, Christy and their two kids fled to Thailand. In English, Mandarin and Cambodian with English subtitles; Not rated, Playing: Regency South Coast Village, Santa Ana, and in limited release where theaters are open; available via virtual cinemas, including Laemmle Theatres. A map of Christys Donuts, Winchells and Dunkin Donuts across California during the height of Ted Ngoys entrepreneurship in the 1970s through the 1990s. I ate the whole thing. "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.". He saw an opportunity to expand his business and help the large number of poor, unassimilated Cambodians who had fled the Khmer Rouge to the United States. and Suganthini replied, "Well be careful, if you don't jump into my room, you'll jump into my mum's room.". in San Clemente and, of course, DK's Donuts in Santa Monica. After completing the company's training program, they gave him the keys to a store in Newport Beach. She later discovered that they were among the first to be executed by the Khmer Rouge. Chuong Lee, who has run DK's Donuts since 1988, is officially retired although she occasionally helps out at the shop. Monks cannot help me, he said. Despite his success, he said, he felt unhappy and isolated. Cambodia was planning its first elections in 1993, and well-to-do emigres from California were returning to run for office. Rose Donuts and Cafe More land deals followed and he has now worked his way back to being a millionaire. I believed him a thousand times, she said. His tenants opened their own stores and leased them out. They had a vacation home in Big Bear and a time share in Acapulco. Los Angeles Times In Cambodia, Ngoy formed the Free Development Republican Party. During the week they went to school, where sometimes they were so hungry they stole snacks from other kids' lunchboxes. And he has a new goal. The other discovery for me was what I called Donut Generation 2.0, the kids who go to take over the parents mom and pop shops. He credits his Christian faith with finally curing his gambling addiction, although he confesses he liked to bet on football games until last year. They had lost their beautiful home and their chain of shops, but still had enough money to live comfortably. The stranger who crept into her room more than 35 years ago is a stranger again. 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. "[10], Whittaker said that "as Asian Americans face increasing racism, its closing message about how immigrant communitiesdefine America has only become more timely."[8]. The family members worked 17 hours a day and saved for a year. In 1967, his mother sent him to study in Phnom Penh, the capital. You just have to see the opportunity and go for it. Those are the wise words of Ted Ngoy. Where are they now?. How to get the best eggs in town without leaving your yard. "After cry, go back gambling," he told one interviewer. "But many of them were not related, they just lived in the same village or heard of my name. 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. In 1985, he and Suganthini became U.S. citizens. One night in a pouring rain, Ngoy scaled a coconut tree beside the wall surrounding her home. youths avoid juvenile hall comes to an end, As it approaches its first decade, the Frida Cinema abides, Shake Shack gets ready to shake things up in Orange County, Santa Anas Electric City Butcher moves online, Brews&Bites beachside beer festival comes to the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, 13 couples say I do on Valentines Day weekend at the Anaheim Marketplace, Broadway Divas serve off-Broadway realness at Segerstrom, Dine your heart out this Valentines Day with special menus throughout Orange County, 43rd annual Orange County Black History Parade & Unity Fair a source of pride in Anaheim. Channy also wholesales doughnuts to other minimarts. 2023 BBC. Ngoy is Cambodian and he was in Phnom Penh when it fell. I am the child of immigrants who came and moved here for the American dream. No days off. "Many times I try to commit suicide because I hate myself. He had $50,000 riding on many Sundays. Chet and Savy, Ted Ngoys oldest children, sit down for an interview in The Donut King.. We were taxed to the hilt, unemployment was high and he was very reluctant to give refugees a home here when Californians were out of work. At school, Ngoy fell in love from afar with a beautiful girl. He is wealthy again. Then, after falling out with a powerful political rival he feared for his life and fled to the US. "He was afraid of being shunned and feeling lonely - but I forced him!" He helped them apply for permits. Read about our approach to external linking. When you hook up with gambling, your life's finished. Christy would search for him in the casinos, the children in tow. I have to go to school.". Ngoy built a vast donut shop empire across California and it started in 1970s Orange County. He is nicknamed the "Donut King." He is nicknamed the "Donut King." Instead, she told him about a training programme run by the doughnut chain, Winchell's. Never surrender. He sat on the roof of his apartment and played his flute, the music sweeping over the neighborhood. Devastated that he had broken their pact, she filed for divorce. , the It was small amounts first but he was soon blowing bigger figures and he couldn't seem to stop. Some of the interviews in the film seemed that way.It was actually really wonderful to speak with particularly his older kids Chet and Savy, who until that interview, they didnt have much to do with him. War erupted in 1970. "But what shall we do in the morning? Using his Republican Party connections, Ngoy successfully lobbied the U.S. for most-favored-nation trade status for Cambodia in 1995, helping create a modern garment industry and thousands of jobs. Ted Ngoy, who was known as the doughnut king, lives in Phnom Penh. "It's a devil, it's a monster. You will end up destroying the whole family and no more relationship with the world, just finished. Suganthinis parents kept her locked in her room for days. COVID-19 has hit her store and most other shops hard. "I cry. Upon his return to Orange County, Ngoy began gambling harder than ever stating "Monks cannot help me, Buddha cannot help me. "The note said, 'I appreciate you blowing the flute. These are all people who present day you dont associate with welcoming refugees with open arms. Every evening, he sat by his open window and played the flute. Ngoy would make a habit of returning monthly to watch performers such as Tom Jones, Diana Ross, and Wayne Newton and indulging in the incentives pit bosses of major casinos offered all the while spending even larger sums at the card tables. He spends his evenings alone, reading the Bible. Some of those he borrowed from were the people he had leased doughnut shops to. He was bleeding out and her parents were like, 'Oh, God. Ngoy lived in an attic apartment a few blocks from the Khoeun familys mansion. Im Chinese American. 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. Ngoy had become an example to other Cambodian immigrants, who began to follow his business model for their own entrepreneurial endeavors. I wanted to tell this story in a way that was inspirational and optimistic. I could have made a special piece just on the history of donuts. Ted Ngoy: Well, when I was in a high school in a French school, my wife's Suganthini. Abcarian: Mask mandates? He wanted to buy more, but he was exhausted running the five he owned. It's so amazing, so touching.' He slept under the bed and hid when the maids came to clean. "Don't worry, I will hide under your bed," said Ted. You will end up destroying the whole family and no more relationship with the world, just finished. Pit bosses, floor men and dealers at Caesars Palace, the MGM Grand and the Mirage got to know the Cambodian doughnut king. Where Im going, I dont know. His doughnut fortune was almost gone. [8] However, the film's directorAlice Gupersuaded him to and, ultimately, he regarded his return as a 'healing experience,' and his ex-wife and children have forgiven him. "What happens if I decide to jump into your room?" He has converted to Christianity, he said, and prays often, asking God for help. Something else about Orange County that I found so beautiful and touching while we were making this film, there was a man who owned a donut shop in Seal Beach and his wife was stricken with cancer. What you've done is incredible.' The following month, US President Gerald Ford insisted the US should welcome 130,000 refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia, telling any critics: "We're a country built by immigrants from all areas of the world, and we've always been a very humanitarian nation.". He was a fraud, he said. About 30 Christys Doughnuts were still in operation, as were hundreds of other Cambodian-owned doughnut shops. Ted managed to escape on the last flight out of Phnom Penh but Suganthini's parents were left behind. It led many voters to assume, incorrectly, that he was against Cambodia's royal family, and he didn't win a seat. The film flashes back to the horror of life in 1970s Cambodia, a tragic offshoot of the Vietnam war that eliminated thousands of lives. So, I just did it. Six weeks later, Gu and her producer, Jos Nuez, were on a plane to Cambodia where they spent three days interviewing Ngoy and shooting B-roll. His gesture went unreciprocated for days. I told them I'm very sorry 1,000 times. Near the station was a doughnut shop. Now, he is in real estate development," Gu says. With Chuong Pek Lee, Susan Lim, Ted Ngoy, Daewon Song. Still penniless, after nearly four years of exile, Ted flew back to Cambodia. Ted's parents and sisters fled across the border to Thailand, and Ted got a call from the US embassy there asking if he would sponsor them to live in the US. Ted Ngoy (born Bun Tek Ngoy) was born into a poor Cambodian family in 1942. Why are we still having these debates? Peace Lutheran Church After setting up a sweet shop of his own, he helped fellow . Christy always forgave him, but word got around that Ted could no longer be trusted. Ted and Suganthini sold everything they had and arrived in California on one of the first refugee flights, with their three children, an adopted nephew and two nieces. In our very first phone call, he asked if I was American and I told him that I was Chinese American. In the early 1970s, Cambodia was in the midst of a brutal civil war that displaced two million people, more than a quarter of the country's population. (Elina Shatkin/LAist). she says. This is my own speculation, but it seemed like he had come to some peace with his dad and childhood. The Donut King is a documentary directed by Alice Gu that covers the life of Ted Ngoy, one of the primary reasons behind the Cambodian American donut shop boom. But then one of Suganthini's servants appeared at his door with a reply. [5] Having grown up in Los Angeles, she was doubtful when her children's nanny made a reference to "Cambodian" donuts; she thought all donuts were simply "American. Each morning, he walked with the monks, begging for food from peasants, crying as the rocky roads tore at his bare feet. goes to your local theater. And then we opened second store in Fullerton, and when they opened, I also train people and my wage, Christi, also . That phrase Donut King is already so eye-catching right off the bat. One day in 2018, she cold-called Hes also a sign of Mexicos healthcare crisis, Black residents of Jackson, Miss., blast plans by white-dominated Legislature for more state control, Spain approves menstrual leave, teen abortion and trans laws. She was hooked. "I did not have time to take care of business, so business was going down. We believe when reliable local reporting is widely available, the entire community benefits. And then I hate the gambling and then I hate that I treat Christy so badly, treat my children so badly, because of the gambling, so I hate myself," he says. In The Donut King, we learn that a teenage Ted won over his wife, Christy (ne Suganthini), by spending 45 straight days laying under her bed. I dont know who I am right now, he said. 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. And a new figure emerged on the California business landscape: the Cambodian doughnut-shop owner. I just do it.. 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. When time goes by it gets into your blood and you just cannot get it out," says Ted. One night, he. Cambodia was poor and under-developed after years of war. They went to Europe twice. "I became a very, very bad man and borrowed money here and there," he says. What was it like?I spoke with him and he was in Cambodia. It was really wonderful. Suganthini smuggled him food at night, and after many days she said she loved him too. Theres this portion in the film that goes into Ted and his ex-wife Christys experiences in Orange County during the 70s. Drenched and bleeding, he tiptoed into a hallway. Ngoy's epic rags-to-riches-to-rags story has been chronicled before (in the A cinematographer who has worked on commercials and movies with Rory Kennedy, Werner Herzog and Stacy Peralta, she stumbled onto the subject after her nanny brought her some "Cambodian donuts. I always thought of it as a Plan B to come back and now, it has become the Plan A and more," Tao says. I ended up not sharing that donut. He built a donut empire and $20 million in wealth, but his fortune built on donuts would crumble and he would lose it all. 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