TEMPE, AZ — Tempe’s Donut Parlor is filled with fluffy, glazed, doughy goodness made fresh by Chhaya Tan and his team.
The sweet circles aren’t just meant for commodities, there’s a history behind the family business.
In the late 1970s, Chhaya's mom fled Cambodia and escaped genocide. Between 1.7 and 3,000,000 people died when the communist party Khmer Rouge took over between 1975 and 1979.
Everything changed for Chhaya's mom Mishella.
“My mom's family of 13, they only had three survive out of the 13 and this is her immediate family,” Chhaya told ABC15.
She escaped but could not reconnect with one of her two surviving sisters until after the genocide ended. The family, including Chhaya’s older sister, was living in a refugee camp called Khao-I-Dang.
Even after fleeing from Cambodia, life was still hard.
“Having dealt with the PTSD, having dealt with the trauma, losing family and the language barrier… it took us a little longer to get acclimated to society here in the States,” Chhaya said.
Chhaya himself is part of the first generation in his family born in America. Growing up, Chhaya also faced some difficulties trying to navigate life as the first generation.
He was born in Texas and eventually moved to Long Beach, California before coming to Arizona.
In his younger years, he worked at donut shops, much like other Cambodians. According to multiple reports, a majority of southern California donut shops are owned by Cambodians.
Now looking back, Chhaya didn’t think he’d own one. He wanted to open a coffee shop.
Chhaya ended up working in corporate banking for more than 10 years. However, one day, he decided to open a donut shop because it was easier for his mom.
Chhaya opened Donut Parlor for his mom so she could focus on recovery and have something to do after battling Stage 3 breast cancer.
“It's never the actual chemo and radiation, it's always the recovery part that's a little tougher. We didn't want my mom to fight cancer and defeat it for nothing,” Chhaya said. “We wanted to make sure she had a good life afterward and with purpose. So, we decided to open up a donut shop and to keep her busy.”
She worked at the shop every day after, being active. She finished her treatments in 2015 and the shop opened in 2016.
Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Businesses closed, and people working in businesses near their shop on Priest Drive and Elliot Road worked from home. To this day, Chhaya said not all of their business has come back.
“All the conventions stopped, spring training, everything. That was maybe 60 to 70% of our business,” he said. “It’s been challenging. Now that everything’s a little more opened back up, tourism is bringing back some of our regular customers, but we’re still missing a big chunk of our customer base.”
As we know in baking, perfection can’t be rushed. It’s the moments that the Tan family has to sit in patience through all of their hardships to hopefully reach that sweet success again.
As May also marks Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, going through what his family did, Chhaya has a message for others.
“Be proud of your identity, be proud of your culture, where you came from. It’s important that, yeah, we identify as Americans but don’t forget your family history and all the hardships and struggles they went through because it’s going to help you overcome and maybe help your family, your kids overcome anything, any obstacles you might come across,” he said.
While he’s still waiting for the business to bounce back, the thought of closing down the Donut Parlor has come across his mind.
“We definitely don’t want to. We’ve worked really hard to set something up. This isn’t just for me and my mom, it’s for the community, too,” he said.
He has created a GoFundMe to help business keep going.
