She said he would be throwing his money away. One day in 2018, she cold-called They were moving their capital and know-how into liquor stores, markets and fast-food restaurants. Your Guide To Everything Boozy You Can Order, A Los Angeles Family Seeks Answers And Accountability After Black Mom Dies In Childbirth. It was helping his community and it was a bit of a cautionary tale.". Suganthinis father ran out from hiding and called an ambulance. It was a humbling experience, and the lowest point in his life. I never will be able to pay back. 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. But within weeks he was back on a plane to Vegas. LAist.com/radio. It also reminds us that several U.S. presidents welcomed a flood of refugees with open arms. The Ngoys drove a motor home around California, opening shops in Los Angeles, Modesto, Fresno, San Jose, the Bay Area city of Brisbane, Sacramento and San Diego. Then he flew to a monastery in the Thai countryside. Christys Doughnuts in La Habra never did great business. 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. 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. When he was unable to pay back his debt, he would sign over his store to them. But he admits he was also aware that conquering Suganthini's heart held out the promise of a better life. Despite never really being a huge success under the previous owners, Christy's became popular under the ownership of the Ngoys. Theres this portion in the film that goes into Ted and his ex-wife Christys experiences in Orange County during the 70s. 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. Get the day's top news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning. [3] Ngoy worked at various jobs, including as a travel agent and tour guide, before joining the military in 1970. Monks cannot help me, he said. Suganthini and her mother heard the music. "[9] In a mixed review, Brad Wheeler of The Globe and Mail said the film is "well worth watching" while saying there "are holes in this doughnut story. They pricked their fingers and squeezed drops of blood into a cup of water. But then one of Suganthini's servants appeared at his door with a reply. Gu realized his story was also an epic romance. He did as he was told, but then pulled out a knife and stabbed himself, declaring he would rather die than live without her. The Cambodians worked hard and because the whole family pitched in, they did not have to pay out any wages. Director Alice Gu makes her film debut with The Donut King, following the life of Ted Ngoy. When he was working in the donut shop, he went to his sponsor and said he was having a hard time. I just want to create as many as I can, he said. TED NGOY HAD an unrelenting obsession during his 1975 plane ride from Southeast Asia to Southern California. They saw Elvis Presley perform, and Ted played a little blackjack. A week later, Suganthini wrote back, and the two began a secret correspondence. Oklahoma-style smash burgers and Georgian dumplings make for some excellent cheap bites in Glendale, Husband and wife Felix Agyei and Hazel Rojas combine food from their heritages, creating a marriage of West African and Filipino cooking. Ted worked as the church janitor but he soon realised earning $500 a month wouldn't be enough to support his family. Sent to the city to study, Ngoy met the beautiful Suganthini Khoeun who was the daughter of a government. When he lost their money he would just sign over the shop to them - without telling Christy, whose signature he forged. They had lost their beautiful home and their chain of shops, but still had enough money to live comfortably. The doughnut king landed at LAX with $50 in his pocket. In most of America there's an average of about one doughnut shop for every 30,000 people - in LA, there's one for every 7,000 people. COVID origins? Ngoy became a trainee and took over a Winchells in Newport Beach. One night, he. They wont trust you, he said. In the 1980s and '90s, when Dunkin' Donuts tried to establish itself on the West Coast, his frosted, deep-fried empire sent the company packing. He also figured that as a prominent politician, he would be forced to control his gambling habit. At each stop, they set up the business and trained the families who leased it. in Tustin sponsored the family, allowing them to live in the church where Ted worked as a janitor. 2023 Southern California Public Radio - All Rights Reserved, Rising Egg Prices Are For The Birds. [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. One night, he saw Suganthini on her balcony, and decided it was time to make his move. She ended up threatening to starve herself, saying, "If you won't let me be with him, I'm not going to eat.". They had a vacation home in Big Bear and a time share in Acapulco. Perpetually in need of cash, he'd ask the people running his donut shops for loans. One of them being my interview with Michael Krondl, the food historian. Gu says Christy's family then threatened to kill Ted but his mother made a deal with them. About 30 Christys Doughnuts were still in operation, as were hundreds of other Cambodian-owned doughnut shops. For weeks, they watched other families leave, until finally they, too, were sponsored by a pastor from a church in Tustin, Orange County, about 35 miles south of Los Angeles. Once, he enjoyed the warmth of family and the respect of his community. I shared love, my heart. Tao did everything in her power to help Gu. Ted remembers hiding from her behind the slot machines. That same year, President Gerald Ford signed the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, allowing 130,000 people from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to come to the U.S. California's Governor at the time, Jerry Brown, opposed the move, saying, in a clip that's featured in The Donut King, "When we have a million people out of work, when we have our own people taxed to the hilt, I'm just very slow to just open the floodgates and say come on in unless we provide a way to put Americans to work.". Ngoy joined the army. Next to the petrol station there was a doughnut shop called DK Donuts. Over four years nearly two million Cambodians were either executed, or died of starvation, disease and overwork. Ted encouraged others to do the same. A child of immigrants herself, she had become curious why Californian doughnut shops were so often run by Cambodians, and why there were so many of them. "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. BC Donuts Once, he was a poor boy who carried away one of Cambodias wealthiest daughters. He and his family barely escaped and were among. When you first reached out to Ted, it was a cold call. Ngoy showed them baking and bookkeeping. Upon deeper glance, it was so personal for me. She became Christy. We had an instant connection and it felt like we were meant to be doing this story together. [citation needed] Ngoy's political career ended in 2002 after breaking with two powerful allies, the commerce minister and the head of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce, Teng Bunma. Soon, Cambodians began copying the Ted Ngoy business model. (Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment). The Ngoys decided to keep uniformity amongst their shops, naming subsequent acquisitions Christy's. [7][3], Ngoy's fortunes improved dramatically, such that by the mid-1980s Ngoy had amassed millions of dollars through his expanding doughnut shop empire, reported as 50 locations throughout California. Through doughnuts, many Cambodians stepped out of isolation and into the American mainstream. He was a fraud, he said. 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. They have social media and know how to work it to innovate their parents old donut shops with a worldwide following. 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. At a news conference, he dissolved his party and accused the government of corruption. The next day, he flew back to Los Angeles leaving behind his new wife and their two children. [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. COVID-19 has hit her store and most other shops hard. Long-lost ship found at the bottom of Lake Huron, confirming story of tragic collision, TikTok to set default daily time limit of up to 60 minutes for minors, 19 cafes that make L.A. a world-class coffee destination, The chance of a lifetime: Five friends ski the tallest mountain in Los Angeles, TikTok faces bans in a number of countries over security fears. One night he asked the woman at the counter if saving $3,000 would be enough to buy a doughnut shop. "I never back down. He became Ted. Streaming now on PBS. He shaved his head and spent three months barefoot in Thailand, coming back emaciated and a changed man - or so he thought. When you get to the table, youre so emotional, evil in your body, he said. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Suspected shooter in attacks on Jewish men was on FBIs radar, LAPD chief says, Caregiver accused in Manhattan Beach child sexual abuse case believed to be in Philippines, Prosecution presents closing arguments in Alex Murdaugh murder trial, Intel agencies say theres no sign adversaries were behind Havana syndrome, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, Dramatic before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountains, Its really bad up here. Stranded residents in San Bernardino Mountains brace for more snow, Jaguars, narcos, illegal loggers: One mans battle to save a jungle and Maya ruins, Dr. Simi is a TikTok star. It was here that Ngoy had his first taste of gambling while placing bets at the blackjack tables. Ted Ngoy (born Bun Tek Ngoy; 1942) is a Cambodian American entrepreneur and former owner of a chain of doughnut shops in California. in Irvine, Her father was a high-ranking government official. 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. Then he had his next great idea. He cut his chest sliding under barbed wire. Mag's Donuts Then he pulled a knife. "I learned to bake, to take care of payroll, cleaning, sales - everything," he says. 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